Faint or feint?
faint is an adjective meaning “Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to lose consciousness”; feint is a noun meaning “A movement made to confuse an opponent; a dummy”. Use faint as an adjective and feint as a noun (feint is also an adjective: “Of an attack or offensive movement: directed toward a…”). They sound the same (/feɪnt/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) faint is about 18 times as common as feint.
What is the difference between faint and feint?
| faint | feint | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adjective, noun, verb | noun, verb, adjective |
| Meaning | Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to lose consciousness Lacking courage, spirit, or energy; cowardly; dejected The act of fainting, syncope | A movement made to confuse an opponent; a dummy A blow, thrust, or other offensive movement resembling an attack on some part of the body, intended to distract from a real attack on another part To direct (a blow, thrust, or other offensive movement resembling an attack) on some part of the body, intended to distract from a real attack on another part |
| Example | I felt faint after my fifth gin and tonic | none recorded |
| Forms | fainter, faintest | feints |
| Pronunciation | /feɪnt/ | /feɪnt/ |
| In writing | 6.0 times per million words | about once in every 3 million words |
Sources: faint and feint in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of faint and feint
faint
- 1
Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to lose consciousness
I felt faint after my fifth gin and tonic
- 2
The act of fainting, syncope
She suffered another faint
- 3
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…
A fainting fit
- 4
Lacking courage, spirit, or energy; cowardly; dejected
- 5
To lose courage or spirit; to become depressed or despondent
- 6
Barely perceptible; not bright, or loud, or sharp
There was a faint red light in the distance
- 7
To decay; to disappear; to vanish
November 12, 1711, Alexander Pope, letter to Henry Cromwell Gilded clouds, while we gaze upon them, faint before the eye
- 8
Performed, done, or acted, weakly; not exhibiting vigor, strength, or energy
faint efforts
feint
- 1
A movement made to confuse an opponent; a dummy
- 2
To direct (a blow, thrust, or other offensive movement resembling an attack) on some part of the body, intended to distract from a real attack on another part
- 3
Of an attack or offensive movement: directed toward a different part from the intended strike
- 4
Of lines printed on paper as a handwriting guide: not bold; faint, light; also, of such paper: ruled with faint lines of this sort
- 5
A blow, thrust, or other offensive movement resembling an attack on some part of the body, intended to distract from a real attack on another part
- 6
To make a feint or mock attack
- 7
Something feigned; a false or pretend appearance; a pretence or stratagem
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, faint or feint?
faint appears 6.0 times per million words; feint about once in every 3 million words.
faint 6.0 times per million wordsfeint about once in every 3 million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search faint vs feint?
“faint vs feint” is searched about 1,000 times a month on Google and 30 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“feint vs faint”, “faint or feint”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.