faint Hear it!

faint Definition

faint (fānt)

adjective

  1. without strength; weak; feeble
  2. without courage or hope; timid
  3. done without strength, vigor, or enthusiasm; halfhearted
  4. feeling weak and dizzy, as if about to swoon
  5. dim; indistinct; unclear
  6. far from certain a faint chance

Etymology: ME feint < OFr, sluggish, orig. pp. of feindre: see feign

noun

  1. a condition of temporary loss of consciousness as a result of an inadequate flow of blood to the brain; swoon
  2. the crude, impure spirits given off in the first and last stages of the distillation of liquor

intransitive verb

  1. to fall into a faint; swoon: often with away
  2. Archaic
    1. to weaken; languish
    2. to lose courage or hope

faint Related Forms

faint′·ish adjective faint′ly adverb faint′·ness noun

faint Synonyms

faint

modif.

  1. Having little physical strength

    feeble, faltering, enervated, dizzy; see dizzy 1, weak 1.

  2. Having little brightness or color

    dim, vague, indistinct, hazy; see dull 2.

  3. Having little volume of sound

    inaudible, indistinct, whispered, breathless, murmuring, low, stifled, dull, dim, muted, hoarse, muttering, soft, soothing, bated, heard in the distance, quiet, low-pitched, low-toned, muffled, hushed, padded, distant, subdued, gentle, softened, feeble, from afar, moderate, grave, deep, deadened, rumbling, heavy, far-off, flat, thin, aside, between the teeth, floating on the air, dulcet, imperceptible, out of earshot.

    Antonyms loud*, audible*, raucous.

faint Synonyms

faint

n.

swoon, unconsciousness, blackout, syncope; see stupor.

faint Synonyms

faint

v.

lose consciousness, pass out, black out, swoon, become unconscious, be overcome, fall, go into a coma, have a stroke, suffer syncope, faint away, faint dead away, drop, collapse, succumb, suffer sunstroke, go out like a light*, keel over*.

Antonyms revive, awaken, come to.

faint Usage Examples

Preposition: at

sight: On the table is one of his inventions - a chicken which has been trained to faint at the sight of a fox.

Modifies a noun

  • whiff: There is not even a faint whiff of fried potatoes.
  • glimmer: There it is, a faint glimmer of hope.
  • glow: The dwarf remained seeing the faint glow from torches onboard their prey long against the cold backdrop of night.
  • praise: You know, that line about damning with faint praise?
  • echo: The music is equally provocative with faint echoes of Genesis in the quiet of the opening passages.
  • wisp: A faint white wisp, something very much like a small cloud, was drifting along the beach.

Modifying Another Word

  • nearly: Really enjoyed the night - except for nearly fainting from the heat.
  • almost: Chapter Five Truth will Tell Lucy's heart missed a beat and she almost fainted when she stepped into her room.
  • too: White dwarfs are much too faint to be seen directly with the naked eye.
  • extremely: In our Solar System the remaining dust scatters sunlight to create an extremely faint glow called the zodiacal light.
  • very: The corona is very faint relative to the main body of the sun.
  • however: Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age all left their mark, however faint, on the area.

Used with why or when

when: She had problems with her nerves and then my son began to faint when he was working in the fields.

Used with adjective complement

  • feel: They tend to lower the blood pressure, which can make people feel faint.
  • grow: The image of shades is because these dead souls have grown faint through the absence of God's light in Hell.
  • appear: Thus Jupiter appears faint whilst the Moon itself is slightly over exposed.

Preposition: of

  • heart: However, the evening is not for the faint of heart.
  • touch: With five minutes to go, Sozzo got the faintest of touches on a through-ball that went into the side-netting.

Preposition: with

hunger: I felt it would be degrading to faint with hunger on the causeway of a hamlet.