faint

Meaning

Adj

1. Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to lose consciousness
2. Lacking courage, spirit, or energy; cowardly; dejected.
3. Barely perceptible; not bright, or loud, or sharp.
4. Performed, done, or acted, weakly; not exhibiting vigor, strength, or energy.
5. Slight; minimal.
6. (archaic) Sickly, so as to make a person feel faint.

Noun

1. The act of fainting, syncope.
2. (rare) The state of one who has fainted; a swoon.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To lose consciousness through a lack of oxygen or nutrients to the brain, usually as a result of suddenly reduced blood flow (may be caused by emotional trauma, loss of blood or various medical conditions).
2. (intransitive) To lose courage or spirit; to become depressed or despondent.
3. (intransitive) To decay; to disappear; to vanish.

Synonyms

swoon

weak

dim

lose consciousness

pass out

indistinct

feeble

light

syncope

black out

soft

vague

dizzy

💫

droop

obscure

blurred

collapse

blackout

hazy

languish

languid

fuzzy

dull

unclear

pale

unconsciousness

insensibility

infirm

gentle

thin

trance

slight

fade

faint away

become unconscious

conk

low

unconscious

tired

😫

light-headed

poor

weakly

subtle

sluggish

faint-hearted

fleeting

stupefaction

faded

quiet

shadowy

Translations

faible

s’évanouir

zwak

Ohnmacht

schwach

svenire

débil

svenimento

debole

desmaiar

desmayarse

flauwvallen

évanouir

évanouissement

desmaio

Pronounced as (IPA)

/feɪnt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: faynt

Inherited from Middle English: fainten

In summary

From Middle English faynt, feynt (“weak; feeble”), from Old French faint, feint (“feigned; negligent; sluggish”), past participle of feindre, faindre (“to feign; sham; work negligently”), from Latin fingere (“to touch, handle, form, shape, frame, form in thought, imagine, conceive, contrive, devise, feign”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- (“to mold”). Cognate with feign and fiction and more distantly dough.