Feign Meaning
/feɪn/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo make a false show or pretence of; to counterfeit or simulate.
verbTo imagine; to invent; to pretend to do something.
Sentence Examples
Especially do not feign affection.
It's futile to feign illness.
It is difficult for those who are sad to feign joy.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The tired actor had to ____ enthusiasm for the boring rehearsal.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She tried to ____ surprise when he gave her the gift, even though she had already seen it in his bag.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English feynen, feinen, borrowed from Old French feindre (“to pretend”), from Latin fingere (“to form, shape, invent”). Compare French feignant (present participle of feindre, literally “feigning”). Also compare feint, figment and fiction.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[T]he truest poetry is the most
feigning, and lovers are given to poetry, and what
they swear in poetry may be said as lovers they do
feign."
— 1599, William Shakespeare, As You Like It, III.iii.18-21:
"She had not been much of a dissembler, until now her loneliness taught her to feign."
— 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 2, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
"Cahill was beaten far too easily for Miller's goal, although the striker deserves the credit for the way he controlled Alan Hutton's right-wing delivery, with his back to goal, feigned to his left then went the other way and pinged a splendid left-foot shot into Hart's bottom right-hand corner."
— 14 August 2013, Daniel Taylor, “Rickie Lambert's debut goal gives England victory over Scotland”, in The Guardian:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The tired actor had to ____ enthusiasm for the boring rehearsal.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She tried to ____ surprise when he gave her the gift, even though she had already seen it in his bag.