feign
1feign´er — feign «fayn», transitive verb. 1. to put on a false appearance of; make believe; pretend: »Some animals feign death when in danger. SYNONYM(S): assume, affect, simulate, sham. 2. to make up to deceive; invent falsely: »to feign an excuse …
2Feign — Feign, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Feigned}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Feigning}.] [OE. feinen, F. feindre (p. pr. feignant), fr. L. fingere; akin to L. figura figure,and E. dough. See {Dough}, and cf. {Figure}, {Faint}, {Effigy}, {Fiction}.] 1. To give a mental …
3feign — c.1300, from O.Fr. feign , prp. stem of feindre pretend, represent, imitate, shirk (12c.), from L. fingere to touch, handle; devise; fabricate, alter, change (see FICTION (Cf. fiction)). Related: Feigned; feigning …
4feign — feign; feign·er; …
5feign — I verb affect, beguile, belie, cheat, concoct, counterfeit, create a false appearance, deceive, delude, disguise, dissemble, dissimulate, distort the truth, fabricate, falsify, fingere, imagine, imitate deceptively, impersonate, lack candor, he… …
6feign — [feın] v [T] formal [Date: 1200 1300; : Old French; Origin: feindre, from Latin fingere to shape, pretend ] to pretend to have a particular feeling or to be ill, asleep etc ▪ Feigning a headache, I went upstairs to my room …
7feign — [ feın ] verb transitive FORMAL to pretend to have a particular feeling: OK, she said, feigning indifference …
8feign — simulate, counterfeit, sham, pretend, affect, *assume Analogous words: fabricate, manufacture, forge (see MAKE): dissemble, *disguise, cloak, mask, camouflage …
9feign — [v] pretend act, affect, assume, bluff*, counterfeit, devise, dissemble, dissimulate, do a bit*, fabricate, fake, forge, four flush*, give appearance of, imagine, imitate, invent, make show of*, phony up*, play, play possum*, put on, put on act* …
10feign — ► VERB ▪ pretend to be affected by (a feeling, state, or injury). ORIGIN Old French feindre, from Latin fingere mould, contrive …
11feign — [fān] vt. [ME feinen < OFr feindre (prp. feignant) < L fingere, to touch, handle, shape: see FIGURE] 1. Obs. to form; shape 2. to make up (a story, excuse, etc.); invent; fabricate 3. to make a false show of; pretend; imitate; simulate 4.… …
12feign — feigner, n. feigningly, adv. /fayn/, v.t. 1. to represent fictitiously; put on an appearance of: to feign sickness. 2. to invent fictitiously or deceptively, as a story or an excuse. 3. to imitate deceptively: to feign another s voice. v.i. 4. to …
13feign — [[t]feɪn[/t]] v. t. 1) to represent fictitiously; put on an appearance of: to feign sickness[/ex] 2) to invent fictitiously or deceptively, as a story or an excuse 3) to imitate deceptively: to feign another s voice[/ex] 4) to make believe;… …
14feign — verb Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo French feign , stem of feindre, from Latin fingere to shape, feign more at dough Date: 13th century intransitive verb pretend, dissemble transitive verb 1. a. to give a false appearance of ; induce as a… …
15feign — UK [feɪn] / US verb [transitive] Word forms feign : present tense I/you/we/they feign he/she/it feigns present participle feigning past tense feigned past participle feigned formal to pretend to have a particular feeling OK, she said, feigning… …
16feign — /feɪn / (say fayn) verb (t) 1. to invent fictitiously or deceptively, as a story or an excuse. 2. to represent fictitiously; put on an appearance of: to feign sickness. 3. to imitate deceptively; simulate: *With that, Paul leapt into bed, put his …
17feign — v. 1 tr. simulate; pretend to be affected by (feign madness). 2 tr. archaic invent (an excuse etc.). 3 intr. indulge in pretence. Etymology: ME f. feign stem of OF feindre f. L fingere mould, contrive …
18feign — verb Feign is used with these nouns as the object: ↑disappointment, ↑enthusiasm, ↑ignorance, ↑illness, ↑indifference, ↑injury, ↑innocence, ↑insanity, ↑interest, ↑look, ↑nonchalance, ↑ …
19feign — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) v. t. simulate, pretend, counterfeit, sham. See falsehood, affectation. II (Roget s IV) v. Syn. pretend, simulate, invent, fabricate; see invent 2 , pretend 1 . See Synonym Study at pretend . III (Roget… …
20feign — [13] Feign is first cousin to faint. It comes from the present stem of Old French faindre or feindre ‘pretend, shirk’, whose past participle gave English faint. This in turn came from Latin fingere ‘make, shape’, which also gave English effigy,… …
