feints

[ feynts ]
/ feɪnts /

plural noun

faints.

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?
Question 1 of 10
decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
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Words nearby feints

feijoa, feijoada, feininger, feinschmecker, feint, feints, feira de santana, feirie, feisal i, feisal ii, feist

Definition for feints (2 of 3)

feint
[ feynt ]
/ feɪnt /

noun

a movement made in order to deceive an adversary; an attack aimed at one place or point merely as a distraction from the real place or point of attack: military feints; the feints of a skilled fencer.
a feigned or assumed appearance: His air of approval was a feint to conceal his real motives.

verb (used without object)

to make a feint.

verb (used with object)

to make a feint at; deceive with a feint.
to make a false show of; simulate.

Origin of feint

1275–1325; Middle English < Old French feinte, noun use of feminine of feint pretended, past participle of feindre to feign

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH feint

fain faint feign feint

Definition for feints (3 of 3)

faints

or feints

[ feynts ]
/ feɪnts /

noun (used with a plural verb)

the impure spirit produced in the first and last stages of the distillation of whiskey.
Compare foreshots.

Origin of faints

1735–45; noun use (in plural) of faint (adj.)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to feints

ruse, blind, stratagem, bait, cheat, artifice, hoax, pretension, fake, pretext, duck, ploy, imposture, dodge, maneuver, play, bluff, wile, deceit, snare

Example sentences from the Web for feints

British Dictionary definitions for feints (1 of 4)

feints

faints

/ (feɪnts) /

pl n

the leavings of the second distillation of Scotch malt whisky

British Dictionary definitions for feints (2 of 4)

faints
/ (feɪnts) /

pl n

a variant spelling of feints

British Dictionary definitions for feints (3 of 4)

feint1
/ (feɪnt) /

noun

a mock attack or movement designed to distract an adversary, as in a military manoeuvre or in boxing, fencing, etc
a misleading action or appearance

verb

(intr) to make a feint

Word Origin for feint

C17: from French feinte, from feint pretended, from Old French feindre to feign

British Dictionary definitions for feints (4 of 4)

feint2
/ (feɪnt) /

noun

printing the narrowest rule used in the production of ruled paper

Word Origin for feint

C19: variant of faint
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012