Words / C2

FAYN/feɪn/

Feign means pretend a feeling or condition: feign surprise, feign illness. Pretend is everyday; fake as a verb is informal. Faint is lose consciousness — same vowel to some ears, different word. A feint (sport/military) is a dummy move. Do not feign a document; that is forge.

Meaning

To pretend to have a feeling or condition that you do not have.

Examples

• “He feigned surprise when the result was already leaked.”
• “He feigned surprise though the result had sat in the shared drive overnight.”
• “Pupils who feign illness still have to sit the paper later; the attendance code is not a cure.”

Good to know

Pretend a feeling/state. Everyday: pretend. Mix-up: faint (pass out); feint (dummy move). Documents: forge, not feign.

Near in meaning

pretend

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