Feign
[feɪn] or [fen]
Definition
(verb.) make believe with the intent to deceive; 'He feigned that he was ill'; 'He shammed a headache'.
Checked by Andrew--From WordNet
Definition
(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.
(v. t.) To represent by a false appearance of; to pretend; to counterfeit; as, to feign a sickness.
(v. t.) To dissemble; to conceal.
Typed by Brooke
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Invent, imagine, devise, fabricate, forge.[2]. Counterfeit, dissemble, affect, pretend to, make a show of.
Checker: Mitchell
Synonyms and Antonyms
[See PRETEND]
Checker: Sherman
Definition
v.t. to invent: to imagine: to make a show or pretence of to counterfeit simulate.—adj. Feigned pretended: simulating.—adv. Feign′edly.—ns. Feign′edness; Feign′ing.
Editor: Ricky
Examples
- Here, therefore, we feign a new act of the mind, which we call the willing an obligation; and on this we suppose the morality to depend. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- She had not been much of a dissembler, until now her loneliness taught her to feign. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- She cannot feign; she scorns hypocrisy. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I'm here on business--just got here, Archer explained; and, without knowing why, he suddenly began to feign astonishment at seeing her. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- He's only feigning to be asleep now,' said the captain, in a high passion. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Mrs. Weston was acting no part, feigning no feelings in all that she said to him in favour of the event. Jane Austen. Emma.
- In the art of feigning he is a worthy disciple of Plato. Plato. The Republic.
- We all drew nearer to the cages, feigning to examine the birds. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- They were envied when they went away by people left behind, feigning not to want to go: and that again was the Marshalsea habit invariably. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- Feigning to be intent on her embroidery, she sat plying her needle until her busy hand was stopped by Mrs Boffin's hand being lightly laid upon it. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- As Louisa feigned to rouse herself, and sat up, Sissy retired, so that she stood placidly near the bedside. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- The sleeper moving an arm, he sat down again in his chair, and feigned to watch the storm from the window. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Hers was neither forced nor feigned. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- This time, Mr. Lorry feigned to go out when he could extract no answer from him, and, after remaining absent for an hour, returned. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- For her sake, I wished to conceal it--for her sake, still, I tell this story under feigned names. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Mine would have been feigned stoicismforced fortitude. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Had he feigned a regard for her which he did not feel? Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.
- If one feigns death lions and lionesses are supposed to ignore one, according to Mr. Philander's faulty memory. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- Twemlow, in a stunned condition, feigns to compare the portrait in his hand with the original looking towards him from his Mephistophelean corner. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
Checker: Olga