Feign \Feign\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Feigned; p. pr. & vb. n.
Feigning.] [OE. feinen, F. feindre (p. pr. feignant), fr.
L. fingere; akin to L. figura figure,and E. dough. See
Dough, and cf. Figure, Faint, Effigy, Fiction.]
1. To give a mental existence to, as to something not real or
actual; to imagine; to invent; hence, to pretend; to form
and relate as if true.
[1913 Webster]
There are no such things done as thou sayest, but
thou feignest them out of thine own heart. --Neh.
vi. 8.
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The poet
Did feign that Orpheus drew trees, stones, and
floods. --Shak.
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2. To represent by a false appearance of; to pretend; to
counterfeit; as, to feign a sickness. --Shak.
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3. To dissemble; to conceal. [Obs.] --Spenser.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Feigning \Feign"ing\, a.
That feigns; insincere; not genuine; false. --
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
feigning
n 1: pretending with intention to deceive [syn: pretense, pretence,
dissembling]
2: the act of giving a false appearance; "his conformity was
only pretending" [syn: pretense, pretence, pretending,
simulation]
WordNet (r) 2.0
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