faint

Meanings

Adjective

• (of a being) Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to lose consciousness
• Lacking courage, spirit, or energy; cowardly; dejected
• Barely perceptible; not bright, or loud, or sharp
• Performed, done, or acted, weakly; not exhibiting vigor, strength, or energy
• Slight; minimal.

Noun

• The act of fainting, syncope.
• The state of one who has fainted; a swoon.

Verb

• 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).
• To lose courage or spirit; to become depressed or despondent.
• To decay; to disappear; to vanish.

Related

Similar words

• queal

Origin

• From Middle English faynt, feynt, from Old French faint, feint, past participle of feindre, faindre, from Latin fingo ("to touch, handle, usually 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.
• From Middle English fainten, feynten, from the adjective (see above).