Although they are pronounced in exactly the same way, these two words have different meanings and one is much more commonly used than the other. Both can be used as a verb or noun and one can also be used as an adjective. Get up to speed with the various meanings of faint and feint so that you can use them with confidence in your writing.
Faint
‘To faint’ is a verb meaning to briefly lose consciousness or expire after feeling dizzy and weak.
When used as an adjective, ‘faint’ can mean the feeling of light-headedness that comes before losing consciousness, as in:
‘Diana complained that she was feeling faint’.
In a different context, it might mean ‘dim’, ‘vague’ or difficult to see, hear or smell. It would be used in a sentence like this:
‘Through the mist, there was a faint outline of the shore on the horizon’.
‘Faint’ can be used as a noun, as in, ‘he was overcome by the heat and collapsed in a faint’, although this is considered quite archaic language.
Feint
The word ‘feint’ is a verb meaning to cleverly make a deceptive movement, especially during sport. It is closely linked to the stem of the word ‘feign’, which means to deceive or pretend. It originated with a French word used in medieval swordsmanship.
It is most often used in fencing and boxing, when athletes pretend to punch or thrust with their left arm and then hit with their right. It
can also be used when discussing other sporting activities or even fights, for example:
‘John feinted left and then gave him a right hook’.
The word ‘feint’ is sometimes used in a military context to describe ‘feint retreats’, which give the impression that an army is retreating in order to draw the other side towards them before beginning an attack.
‘Feint’ can also be used as a noun, as in the sentence:
‘Beckham kept the ball away from the defender by using a clever feint’.
As ‘feint’ is a less commonly used word than ‘faint, it is possible that some people are unsure of its meaning. ‘Feint’ is a lovely, literary word to employ when the circumstances call for it, so keep it in your arsenal and use it in academic writing where appropriate!
Faint
‘To faint’ is a verb meaning to briefly lose consciousness or expire after feeling dizzy and weak.
When used as an adjective, ‘faint’ can mean the feeling of light-headedness that comes before losing consciousness, as in:
‘Diana complained that she was feeling faint’.
In a different context, it might mean ‘dim’, ‘vague’ or difficult to see, hear or smell. It would be used in a sentence like this:
‘Through the mist, there was a faint outline of the shore on the horizon’.
‘Faint’ can be used as a noun, as in, ‘he was overcome by the heat and collapsed in a faint’, although this is considered quite archaic language.
Feint
The word ‘feint’ is a verb meaning to cleverly make a deceptive movement, especially during sport. It is closely linked to the stem of the word ‘feign’, which means to deceive or pretend. It originated with a French word used in medieval swordsmanship.
It is most often used in fencing and boxing, when athletes pretend to punch or thrust with their left arm and then hit with their right. It
can also be used when discussing other sporting activities or even fights, for example:
‘John feinted left and then gave him a right hook’.
The word ‘feint’ is sometimes used in a military context to describe ‘feint retreats’, which give the impression that an army is retreating in order to draw the other side towards them before beginning an attack.
‘Feint’ can also be used as a noun, as in the sentence:
‘Beckham kept the ball away from the defender by using a clever feint’.
As ‘feint’ is a less commonly used word than ‘faint, it is possible that some people are unsure of its meaning. ‘Feint’ is a lovely, literary word to employ when the circumstances call for it, so keep it in your arsenal and use it in academic writing where appropriate!