verb
feign
FAYN/feɪn/
To pretend to have a feeling, condition, or reaction.
The adult feigns sleep while watching the approaching friend through one open eye.
Etymology
Latin fingere included devising or fabricating something. Feigning applies that idea to appearances: someone presents an invented emotion or condition as though it were real.
In context
our naval guns will probably have a hard time penetrating their defenses." Hearing his underlings starting to back down, Han Ziyi could only feign composure and say, "Don't worry, I expected them to have ironclad warships.
More examples
- He feigned illness to avoid the meeting.
- I try to feign interest in their conversation.
- There's no point in feigning innocence; we saw what happened.
Forms
feign · feigns · feigned · feigning