feign — to pretend to have a particular feeling, illness, or injury
Part of speech: VERB
Definition: to pretend to have a particular feeling, illness, or injury
Pronunciation (IPA): /feɪn/
Example Sentences
- The student feigned a headache when the math test began.
- He couldn't feign enthusiasm for his ex-girlfriend's wedding invitation.
- The actor was so skilled that he could feign any emotion convincingly.
feign
VERB[/feɪn/]
to pretend to have a particular feeling, illness, or injury
The boy tries to feign a stomachache to skip school, but his mom isn't buying it.
Fake tears for real gain - feigning pays!
Feign the pain until you meet the rain!
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
From Old French 'feindre', derived from Latin 'fingere' meaning 'to shape, mold, or devise'. The word evolved through Romance languages to mean 'to invent a false impression' or 'to pretend'.
Breakdown
feign (from Latin fingere 'to shape/devise') = a single morpheme with no productive English affixes, though historically rooted in the Latin stem meaning 'to contrive or invent'
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“The student feigned a headache when the math test began.”
“He couldn't feign enthusiasm for his ex-girlfriend's wedding invitation.”
“The actor was so skilled that he could feign any emotion convincingly.”
“She feigned surprise when her surprise birthday party was revealed.”
📚Related Words
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