English vocabulary · C1
Feign
/feɪn/ · v.
It means to pretend — to fake a feeling or action on purpose.
Continue in the learning app for video lessons and review.
Example sentences
- He feigned sleep to avoid the meeting.
- She feigned surprise, but she already knew.
Word origin and roots
from Latin
- fig — shape (from Latin)
Synonyms and nuances
- figure (acting a role that was never actually played)
- fiction (creating a false narrative to deceive)
- figment (inventing something that never existed)
Words with the same root
fingere — shape
- figure — a shaped form or image
- fiction — a story shaped entirely by imagination
- figment — something shaped only in the imagination — not real
Lesson notes
Feign. It means to pretend — to fake a feeling or action on purpose. You act as if something is true, but it is not.
Similar words are figure, fiction, and figment. Use feign when someone fakes a feeling on purpose.
He feigned sleep to avoid the meeting. She feigned surprise, but she already knew.
From Latin. Fig means shape. To feign is to shape a feeling that is not real.