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“Faint” or “Feint”

faint / feint are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term.

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Definitions

What each term means

Same sound, different spellings and meanings, shown with a pronunciation guide for each term.

faint f·EY·n·t

  • nouna spontaneous loss of consciousness caused by insufficient blood to the brain.
  • verbpass out from weakness, physical or emotional distress due to a loss of blood supply to the brain.
  • adjectivedeficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc.
  • adjectivelacking strength or vigor.
  • adjectiveweak and likely to lose consciousness.
  • adjectiveindistinctly understood or felt or perceived.
  • adjectivelacking conviction or boldness or courage.

feint f·EY·n·t

  • nounany distracting or deceptive maneuver (as a mock attack).
  • verbdeceive by a mock action.
Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“faint”

  • …(opisthosoma) with a series of faint light-colored chevron markings.
  • …through intersystem crossing and very faint fluorescence.
  • Gordon writes that Kinnoull "being faint for lack of meat, and…
  • …but the color is usually faint and only noticeable upon close
  • …if one looks carefully, two faint side bands.
  • …to right himself, he became faint from the escaping gas and…
  • It is a faint star that requires good viewing…
  • …a misnomer used for the faint flashes of lightning on the…
  • …have brown forewings with a faint pattern of light and dark…
  • …the naked eye as a faint, yellow-hued point of light with…

“feint”

  • …the Normandy landings were a feint and the main Allied invasion…
  • …William T. Sherman conducted a feint against Confederate units holding the…
  • Ellington Feint: a mysterious girl with green…

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions are drawn from WordNet.

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