feign

«feign» in Mova's school dictionary: To pretend to feel something or to be ill, tired or… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

verb (feign, feigns, feigned, feigning)

meaning for a pupil

1) To pretend to feel something or to be ill, tired or asleep when you are not. tree →

2) To feign can also mean to pretend not to know something. tree →

sense in the lessons

In stories it tells the reader that a character is acting, not truly feeling: «she feigned sleep». Animals can feign death to escape danger. Phrases: feign illness, feign surprise, feign interest, feign sleep.

examples

• Tom feigned a headache so he would not have to go swimming. tree →
• The possum feigned death to trick the dog. tree →
• She feigned surprise, but she already knew about the party. tree →
• He feigned interest in his aunt's holiday photos. tree →
• The cat feigned sleep while watching the mouse. tree →
• Don't feign illness; tell the truth about the test. tree →
• Him also the Yaga attempts to destroy, but he feigns ignorance, and persuades her to show him how to tie knots and to blow. tree →

note

Pronounced like «fain» — the g is silent. Spelling: ei. Homophone: «feint» (a fake move in sport) sounds almost the same and is related. A slightly formal word; in speech people say «pretend».

Trees and pragmatics

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