What does "feint" mean?
A movement made to confuse an opponent; a dummy.
Feint
/feɪnt/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A movement made to confuse an opponent; a dummy.
- Grammar: feint is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: acting, aerial tactics, affectation, airborne tactics.
- Useful contrasts: direct thrusts, act honestly, act straightforwardly.
- Usage evidence: Mary would feint innocence, pretending she had turned in her assignments when in actuality she hadn't completed them.
How to use "feint"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "feint" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "feint" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "feint" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "feint" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "feint" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "acting" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "feint", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A movement made to confuse an opponent; a dummy. often
"In October, Friburg had been taken by a Feint of the Duke of Crequi, before the Duke of Lorrain cou'd come to relieve it; […]"
- 2 any distracting or deceptive maneuver (as a mock attack) wordnet
- 3 A blow, thrust, or other offensive movement resembling an attack on some part of the body, intended to distract from a real attack on another part.
"He had some advantage in the difference of our weapons; for his sword, as I recollect, was longer than mine, […] His obvious malignity of purpose never for a moment threw him off his guard, and he exhausted every feint and strategem proper to the science of defence; while, at the same time, he mediated the most desperate catastrophe to our rencounter."
- 4 Something feigned; a false or pretend appearance; a pretence or stratagem. figuratively
"[I]f your zeal slackens, how can one help thinking that Mr. Courtly's letter is but a feint to get off from a subject in which either your own, or the private and base ends of others to whom you are partial, or those of whom you are afraid, would not endure a reformation?"
Verb
- 1 To direct (a blow, thrust, or other offensive movement resembling an attack) on some part of the body, intended to distract from a real attack on another part. transitive
"Genevra scowled and said, "His word is wild, / But dastard treason feinteth such disorders: / Treason or witchcraft neither, undefiled, / A Christian court may cherish in its borders.""
- 2 deceive by a mock action wordnet
- 3 To direct a feint or mock attack against (someone). rare, transitive
"Feint him—use your legs! draw him about! he'll lose his wind then in no time, and you can go into him."
- 4 To make a feint or mock attack. also, intransitive, often
"Ben-Hur feinted with his right hand. The stranger warded, slightly advancing his left arm. Ere he could return to guard, Ben-Hur caught him by the wrist in a grip which years at the oar had made terrible as a vise."
Adjective
- 1 Of an attack or offensive movement: directed toward a different part from the intended strike. also, not-comparable, often
- 2 Of lines printed on paper as a handwriting guide: not bold; faint, light; also, of such paper: ruled with faint lines of this sort. not-comparable
- 3 Feigned, counterfeit, fake. not-comparable, obsolete
"We force ourselves to be hypocrites, and hide our wrongs from them; we speak of a bad father with false praises; we wear feint smiles over our tears and deceive our children—deceive them, do we?"
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
direct thrustsact honestlyact straightforwardlybe straightforward
Example
"Mary would feint innocence, pretending she had turned in her assignments when in actuality she hadn't completed them."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "feint"?
Common synonyms include: acting, aerial tactics, affectation, airborne tactics, alibi, apology.
How do you use "feint" in a sentence?
Mary would feint innocence, pretending she had turned in her assignments when in actuality she hadn't completed them.
How do you pronounce "feint"?
Pronounced /feɪnt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
The noun is borrowed from French feinte (“dummy, feint”), from feindre (“to fake, feign”), from Old French feindre, faindre, from Latin fingere, the present active infinitive of fingō (“to alter the truth to deceive, dissemble, feign, pretend; to fashion, form, shape”). The verb is derived from the noun. Cognates * Italian finta * Occitan fencha, fenha * Old Spanish finta (modern Spanish finta (“dummy, feint”))
Etymology 2
Borrowed from French feint, the past participle of feindre (“to fake, feign”): see etymology 1.
Etymology 3
A variant of faint (“barely perceptible; not bright, loud, or sharp”).