faint

«faint» in Mova's school dictionary: Not strong or clear; hard to see, hear or smell (a faint… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adjective (faint, fainter, faintest); verb (faint, faints, fainted, fainting); noun (a faint)

meaning for a pupil

1) Not strong or clear; hard to see, hear or smell (a faint sound, a faint line). tree →

2) To suddenly become unconscious for a short time and fall down, often because the brain does not get enough blood. tree →

3) Feeling weak and dizzy, as if you might fall (I feel faint). tree →

4) Very small (a faint chance; I haven't the faintest idea = I don't know at all). tree →

sense in the lessons

In safety and first aid: people can faint from heat, not eating, standing still too long, or the sight of blood; lie them down, raise their legs, give air, and get an adult; call an ambulance if they don't wake up quickly. In art and maths, faint lines are light pencil lines you can rub out. In stories faint sounds and lights build mystery. Phrases: feel faint, faint with hunger, a faint smell, not the faintest idea.

examples

• I could hear a faint sound coming from the cupboard. tree →
• Draw faint lines first, then go over them in pen. tree →
• He fainted in the hot sun and fell down. tree →
• If you feel faint, sit down and put your head between your knees. tree →
• There was a faint smell of smoke. tree →
• The stars were faint because of the city lights. tree →
• I haven't the faintest idea where my shoe is. tree →
• The sickening smell made him faint. tree →

note

Homophone trap: «faint» (weak, or to pass out) and «feint» (a fake move in sport or boxing) sound the same. Comparative: fainter, faintest.

In the corpora

• Sharks sense the faint electricity of living animals with pores on their snouts called the ampullae of Lorenzini.
• Many deep fish have big eyes to catch faint light from glowing animals, and some have tube-shaped eyes that look upward.
• Near the spot the Rat feels «a faint sort of electric thrill» through his arm.
• They think he is a poor old washerwoman who has fainted from the heat, and kindly lift him into the car.
• Swelling of the face or throat, trouble breathing or feeling faint after a sting is an emergency.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «faint» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.