Definition of Feign

1. Verb. Make believe with the intent to deceive. "He shammed a headache"


2. Verb. Make a pretence of. "He feigned sleep"
Exact synonyms: Assume, Sham, Simulate
Generic synonyms: Act, Dissemble, Pretend
Specialized synonyms: Play, Feint
Derivative terms: Feigning, Sham, Shammer, Shammer, Simulation

Definition of Feign

1. v. t. To give a mental existence to, as to something not real or actual; to imagine; to invent; hence, to pretend; to form and relate as if true.

Definition of Feign

1. Verb. To represent by a false appearance of; to pretend; to counterfeit. ¹

2. Verb. To give a mental existence to something that is not real or actual; to imagine; to invent; to pretend; to form and relate as if true. ¹

3. Verb. To dissemble; to conceal. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Feign

1. to pretend [v -ED, -ING, -S] - See also: pretend

Medical Definition of Feign

1. 1. To give a mental existence to, as to something not real or actual; to imagine; to invent; hence, to pretend; to form and relate as if true. "There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart." (Neh. Vi. 8) "The poet Did feign that Orpheus drew trees, stones, and floods." (Shak) 2. To represent by a false appearance of; to pretend; to counterfeit; as, to feign a sickness. 3. To dissemble; to conceal. Origin: 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. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Feign

feeze
feezed
feezes
feezing
fefnicute
feg
fegaries
fegary
fegs
feh
fehling
fehm
fehme
fehmic
fehs
feign (current term)
feigned
feigned eruption
feignedly
feigner
feigners
feigning
feigningly
feignings
feigns
feijoa
feijoa bush
feijoada
feijoadas
feijoas

Literary usage of Feign

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Lusiad: Or, The Discovery of India: an Epic Poem by Luís de Camões, William Julius Mickle (1809)
"(• In those fair lawns the blest Elysium feign'd—In this assertion our author has the authority of Strabo, a foundation sufficient for a poet. ..."

2. Life and Times of Frederick Douglass: His Early Life as a Slave, His Escape by Frederick Douglass (2001)
"... with Master Thomas — His beating — Driven back to Covey's — The slaves never sick — Natural to expect them to feign sickness — Laziness of slaveholders. ..."

3. A Glossary of Tudor and Stuart Words: Especially from the Dramatists by Walter William Skeat, Anthony Lawson Mayhew (1914)
"... to collogue, to flatter, fawn on', Cotgrave ; to feign agreement, Marston and Webster, Malcontent, v. 2 ; to have a private understanding with, ..."

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