MEANING
To give a false appearance of an emotion, condition, or response.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- feign surprise
- feign indifference
On the page
He feigned indifference while watching the door.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- feign
- Past tense
- feigned
- Past participle
- feigned
- Present participle
- feigning
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- feign
- Present continuous
- am/is/are feigning
- Present perfect
- have/has feigned
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been feigning
- Past
- feigned
- Past continuous
- was/were feigning
- Past perfect
- had feigned
- Past perfect continuous
- had been feigning
- Future
- will feign
- Future continuous
- will be feigning
- Future perfect
- will have feigned
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been feigning
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: feign; feigns; feigned; feigned; feigning Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description, character, dialogue. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: feigns.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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