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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

feign

/feɪn/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:39
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What does feign mean?

verb

  1. To make a false show or pretence of; to counterfeit or simulate.
  2. To imagine; to invent; to pretend to do something.
  3. To make an action as if doing one thing, but actually doing another, for example to trick an opponent; to feint.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/feɪn/

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

Ashamed to own that his return was owing to his inability to ride, Jerome resolved to feign sickness.
William Wells BrownClotelle; Or, The Colored Heroine, a tale of the Southern States; Or, The President's DaughterProject Gutenberg ebook #241
And this hypocrisy found I worst amongst them, that even those who command feign the virtues of those who serve.
Friedrich Wilhelm NietzscheThus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and NoneTranslated by Thomas CommonProject Gutenberg ebook #1998
More book examples (3)
Then it occurred to him to feign a great abstraction, pretending not to know that the time was come to pay.
Frank NorrisMcTeague: A Story of San FranciscoProject Gutenberg ebook #165
He particularly remembered an old fellow who used to sit upon a cracker box in front of the store and feign to despise such exhibitions.
Stephen CraneThe Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil WarProject Gutenberg ebook #73
“I weigh not these evils,” said Rebecca, afraid to provoke the wild knight, yet equally determined neither to endure his passion, nor even feign to endure it.
Walter ScottIvanhoe: A RomanceProject Gutenberg ebook #82