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 …

    Useful english dictionary

  • 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 …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 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 …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 4feign — feign; feign·er; …

    English syllables

  • 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… …

    Law dictionary

  • 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 …

    Dictionary of contemporary English

  • 7feign — [ feın ] verb transitive FORMAL to pretend to have a particular feeling: OK, she said, feigning indifference …

    Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • 8feign — simulate, counterfeit, sham, pretend, affect, *assume Analogous words: fabricate, manufacture, forge (see MAKE): dissemble, *disguise, cloak, mask, camouflage …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 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* …

    New thesaurus

  • 10feign — ► VERB ▪ pretend to be affected by (a feeling, state, or injury). ORIGIN Old French feindre, from Latin fingere mould, contrive …

    English terms dictionary