feign
feign
Pronunciation
The phonetic spelling of feign is /feɪn/.
It is a single-syllable word composed of the following sounds:
/f/: A voiceless sound made by pressing the upper teeth against the lower lip.
/eɪ/: The long "a" vowel sound, as heard in words like pain, rain, and sane.
/n/: A voiced sound made by pressing the tip of the tongue against the ridge behind the top teeth.
Word Form Variations
Verb (base): feign
Verb (third-person singular): feigns
Verb (past tense & past participle): feigned
Verb (present participle): feigning
Adjective: feigned
Adverb: feignedly
Noun (gerund): feigning
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Verb
To feign is to invent or put on a false appearance of a feeling, condition, or intention. It's essentially acting out something that isn't true. 🤔
Synonyms: pretend, simulate, fake, act, sham, counterfeit
Antonyms: be genuine, feel, experience, be sincere
Adjective
Something that is feigned is insincere, artificial, or not genuinely felt.
Synonyms: fake, false, artificial, insincere, pretended
Antonyms: genuine, real, authentic, sincere, heartfelt
Examples of Use
In Literature
In literature, characters often feign emotions or states of being to manipulate others or hide their true intentions.
A classic example is in Shakespeare's Hamlet, where the titular character tells his friends he plans to "put an antic disposition on," meaning he will feign madness to investigate his father's murder without suspicion.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the narrator Nick Carraway opens the novel by mentioning advice from his father to reserve judgment, which he says has led to him being the victim of "veteran bores" and "wild, unknown men," implying he must often feign interest in their stories.
In News and Online Publications
Journalists and commentators frequently use the word, especially in political analysis, to describe what they perceive as insincere displays of emotion or belief.
"Political opponents accused the senator of feigning outrage over the new tax policy, claiming he had privately supported similar measures in the past."
An article on psychology might explain how individuals in social situations sometimes feign agreement to avoid conflict or to fit in with a group. (Psychology Today, October 2023)
In Entertainment
Characters in film and television often pretend, making "feign" a useful descriptor for their actions.
In Disney's The Lion King (1994), after orchestrating Mufasa's death, his villainous brother Scar addresses the pride with feigned sadness, manipulating them into accepting his rule.
In the TV series Sherlock, the detective frequently feigns ignorance or social awkwardness to lower people's guards and extract information from them.
In General Public Discourse
The word is commonly used in everyday conversation to describe faking an emotion, illness, or state.
"My toddler is a master of feigning sleep when he doesn't want to put his toys away."
During a work meeting, you might whisper to a coworker, "I'm trying to feign enthusiasm for this project, but it's not working."
A common piece of advice for dealing with anxiety is to "fake it 'til you make it," which is another way of saying one should feign confidence until it becomes genuine.
10 Famous Quotes Using Feign
Hold out baits to entice the enemy; feign disorder, and crush him. (Sun Tzu)
Especially, do not feign affection. (Max Ehrmann)
The truest poetry is the most feigning. (William Shakespeare)
You feign guilt in order to justify yourself. (Jean Racine)
I would tell anyone who wants something from someone else to feign not wanting it. (Hedy Lamarr)
We cannot feign innocence when some of that destruction is returned. (Ward Churchill)
A human would remain in the trap, endure the pain, feigning death that he might kill the trapper. (Frank Herbert)
Anything that I'm not interested in, I can't even feign interest. (Quentin Tarantino)
We get paid to feign attraction and love. (Megan Fox)
Feigned interest is worse than brutal honesty. (Stewart Stafford)
Etymology
The history of the word feign is all about the idea of shaping or molding something. 🏺
The word's journey began with the Latin verb fingere, which meant "to shape, form, or mold," like a potter shapes clay. This same Latin root gives us other English words that involve "shaping" something, like:
Fiction: Shaping a story.
Figure: A shape or form.
Effigy: A shaped model of a person.
Over time, fingere traveled into Old French as the word feindre. Here, the meaning started to shift from physically shaping something to mentally shaping something—like inventing a story, devising an excuse, or fabricating an appearance.
Finally, around the year 1300, the word entered Middle English from French as feinen. Its first known meaning in English was "to invent" or "to fabricate." It wasn't long before this meaning narrowed down to what we use today: to invent or "shape" a false feeling, illness, or intention.
So, when you feign surprise, you are essentially "shaping" a surprised look on your face that isn't real, connecting all the way back to that original Latin idea of molding something.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Feign
Phrases Using "Feign"
These are common word pairings where feign is used to describe the pretense of a specific state or emotion.
To feign ignorance: To pretend you don't know something.
To feign interest: To act engaged or curious when you are actually bored.
To feign surprise: To put on a show of being shocked or astonished.
To feign illness: To pretend to be sick, often to avoid a responsibility.
To feign sleep: To lie still with your eyes closed, pretending to be asleep.
To feign innocence: To act as if you are blameless, naive, or unaware of wrongdoing.
Idioms with a Similar Meaning
Since "feign" is a bit formal, it's not often found in casual idioms. However, these idioms capture the essence of feigning something.
Play dumb: A very common and informal way to say "feign ignorance."
Shed crocodile tears: To display false or insincere sadness.
Put on a brave face: To feign courage or happiness when you're actually scared or upset.
Play possum: The idiomatic version of "feign death," based on the opossum's habit of playing dead when threatened.
A wolf in sheep's clothing: Refers to a person who feigns kindness and innocence to hide their malicious intent.
Put on an act: To behave in an artificial way; to feign a certain personality or emotion for an audience.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of feign from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
