faint

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“
Gives him what he calls a faint picture of his horrible uneasiness, riding up and down, expecting the return of his servant as soon as he had dispatched him.

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Definitions (35)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (8)

  1. adjective Lacking strength or vigor; feeble.
  2. adjective Lacking conviction, boldness, or courage; timid.
  3. adjective Lacking brightness: a faint light in the gloom.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (15)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (4)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (8)

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Examples (50)

  • He then contrived to faint, which is easy enough for a neuropath. —  Suddenly At His Residence - Christianna Brand - Inspector Cockrill 03: 1947
  • Her voice sounded hoarse and faint, the tone of a woman already in shock. —  The Killing Hour by Lisa Gardner
  • From here, in the faint wash of moonlight, he could see the thick growth of trees that marked the riverbank. —  ClayYeager'sRedemption
  • He looked faint, and Delilah—who had apparently noticed his expression—silently reached for his hand. —  Yasmine Galenorn - [Sisters of the Moon 1] - Witchling
  • My! but I was faint, although I'd had a good meal at the hospital at noon, but you know a nursing mother needs plenty of nourishing food and often. —  Fifteen Years With The Outcast
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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

slight ·  soft ·  vague ·  weak ·  loud

Used in the same contextWord Family

faint:   fainter ·  faintest ·  fainting ·  fainted
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, deceitful, cowardly, from Old French, past participle of feindre, to feign; see feign.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Also, and now usually, in the literally sense, feint; from Middle English faynt, feynt, weak, feeble, from Old French feint, faint, feigned, negligent, sluggish, past participle of feindre, faindre (= Provencal fenher), feign, reflexive sham, work negligently: see feign, which was formerly spelled fain, according with faint.
  2. from Middle English fainten, feynten; from faint, adjective
 

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/feɪnt/
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