Dictionary

feign en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /feɪn/
• (US) audio
• (US) audio

Etymology

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.

Meanings

1. To make a false show or pretence of; to counterfeit or simulate.
   • 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:
   • They feigned her signature on the cheque.
   • The pupil feigned sickness on the day of his exam.
   • [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:
2. To imagine; to invent; to pretend to do something.
   • He feigned that he had gone home at the appointed time.
   • Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart. 1611, King James Translators, Nehemiah 6:8
3. To make an action as if doing one thing, but actually doing another, for example to trick an opponent; to feint.
   • 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:

Forms

Deriveds

feignable · feigned · unfeigned · feigner · feignful

Synonyms

put on airs (represent by a false appearance) · front (represent by a false appearance) · deceive

Translations (121)

it simulare (to make a false show) · sv låtsas (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · ja 見せ掛ける (to make a false show) · nl fingeren (to make a false show) · it mascherare (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · fur fengi (to make a false show) · pt aparentar (to make a false show) · fr feindre (to make a false show) · bg преструвам се (to make a false show) · mi whakakikoika (to make a false show) · nl verbergen (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · hu kitalál (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · pl rżnąć (to make a false show) · nl veinzen (to make a false show) · fi salata (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · pl pozorować (to make a false show) · ru притворя́ться (to make a false show) · sv uppdikta (to make a false show) · uk прикида́тися (to make a false show) · ru симули́ровать (to make a false show) · oc fénher (to make a false show) · bg заблуждавам (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · fi kuvitella (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · es hacer el papel (to make a false show) · hu hamisít (to make a false show) · de verbergen (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · hu titkol (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · ru прики́дываться (to make a false show) · tr taklidini yapmak (to make a false show) · de verheimlichen (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · bg измислям (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · it fingere (to make a false show) · ar تَصَنَّعَ (to make a false show) · ar تَظَاهَرَ (to make a false show) · hu szimulál (to make a false show) · hu színlel (to make a false show) · fi tekeytyä (to make a false show) · uk ви́гадати (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · mi whakakikokiko (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · fur fenzi (to make a false show) · gd leig air (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · nl voorwenden (to make a false show) · hi स्वाँग (to make a false show) · eo ŝajnigi (to make a false show) · pt inventar (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · uk прихова́ти (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · nl verzwijgen (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · pl kreować się (to make a false show) · mi whakakikoika (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · ru подделывать (to make a false show) · hu tettet (to make a false show) · it immaginarsi (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · it dissimulare (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · pl udawać (to make a false show) · hi स्वाँग (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · tr hile yapmak (to make a false show) · pl strugać (to make a false show) · ca fingir (to make a false show) · hu eltitkol (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · pt omitir (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · ar تَخَيَّل (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · bg симулирам (to make a false show) · it inventarsi (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · pl pozować (to make a false show) · hu kieszel (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · cs předstírat (to make a false show) · ru пря́тать (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · pl grać (to make a false show) · pt dissimular (to make a false show) · ar يَزْعُم (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · it nascondere (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · uk наду́мати (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · gl inventar (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · fi teeskennellä (to make a false show) · de vortäuschen (to make a false show) · sv fingera (to make a false show) · ru скрыва́ть (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · hu kigondol (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · fi peitellä (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · uk вига́дувати (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · tr inandırmak (to make a false show) · el προσποιούμαι (to make a false show) · pl robić się na kogoś (to make a false show) · da simulere (to make a false show) · da eftergøre (to make a false show) · es hacer papel (to make a false show) · it bluffare (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · pl zgrywać się (to make a false show) · da foregive (to make a false show) · nl veinzen (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · es aparentar (to make a false show) · sv dölja (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · de vormachen (to make a false show) · hu úgy tesz, mintha… (to make a false show) · ar وَرَّى (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · pt imaginar (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · hu megjátszik (to make a false show) · pt fingir (to make a false show) · sv förege (to make a false show) · gd leig air (to make a false show) · no simulere (to make a false show) · lmo fing (to make a false show) · cs simulovat (to make a false show) · de fingieren (to make a false show) · nl inbeelden (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · cmn 假裝 /假装 (to make a false show) · no spille (to make a false show) · ru выду́мывать (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · ar اِخْتَلَقَ (to make a false show) · de ausdenken (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · gl finxir (to make a false show) · nb fingere (to make a false show) · pl stroić się na (to make a false show) · uk підро́блювати (to make a false show) · pl odgrywać rolę (to make a false show) · de vorgeben (to make a false show) · ja 装う (to make a false show) · mi whakakikoika (to imagine, to invent, to pretend; to give a mental existence to something) · uk схова́ти (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · uk прихо́вувати (to hide, conceal, or dissemble) · lut səxʷʔiw̓adəb (to make a false show)