feign

American  

[feyn] / feɪn /

verb (used with object)

1. to represent fictitiously; put on an appearance of.

   to feign sickness.

2. to invent fictitiously or deceptively, as a story or an excuse.

3. to imitate deceptively.

   to feign another's voice.

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verb (used without object)

1. to make believe; pretend.

   She's only feigning, she isn't really ill.

feign British  

/ feɪn /

verb

1. to put on a show of (a quality or emotion); pretend

   to feign innocence

2. (tr) to make up; invent

   to feign an excuse

3. (tr) to copy; imitate

   to feign someone's laugh

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Related Words

See pretend.

Other Word Forms

• feigner noun
• feigningly adverb

Etymology

Origin of feign

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English fei(g)nen, from Old French feign-, present stem of faindre, feindre, from Latin fingere “to feign, invent, shape”

Explanation

For a more formal way to say pretend to or imitate, choose the verb feign. You might feign indifference when you hear about some gossip, but you're probably dying to know. Feign comes from the Latin fingere, "to devise, fabricate." The word fiction comes from the same source, so if you feign something such as sleep, you give off the fiction that you are sleeping. This can be done to be polite but also to deceive such as when you feign an injury or the flu so you can stay home from school or work. You can also feign an accent, though some are better at this than others.

Example Sentences

The perpetrator would have to keep at least one clue from his victims to feign innocence, but a subtle inconsistency would allow others to infer his guilt.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

At first, Lanthimos uses her character as a spoof of lady-bosses who feign enlightenment while reigning over the same bad workplace.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 23, 2025

It’s weird to be paranoid or to feign paranoia as part of an elaborate performance to manipulate rubes.

From Slate • Aug. 6, 2025

Simply put, a player could feign injury to prevent the resumption of play and slow their opponents' momentum - but it is virtually impossible to prove.

From BBC • Sep. 23, 2024

Therefore I told myself to feign belief, and to wait for the time when I would go out into the world, learn other ways of life and gather the evidence to confront my parents.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane