faint

/feɪnt/

//feɪnt// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"faint" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“faint” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,891 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#9,891
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to lose consciousness

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

faint vs fit
60% similar
faint vs fan
60% similar
faint vs fat
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for faint
PropertyValue
Headwordfaint
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/feɪnt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#9,891
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “faint” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). faint lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for faint is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /feɪnt/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,891 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for faint, with forms such as "afint", "fainnt", and "faintt". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fit", "fan", "fat", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 th… The correct English form is faint, spelled F-A-I-N-T.

Definition

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

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

débil(Español)faible(Français)kraftlos(Deutsch)lânguido(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: afint,fainnt,faintt,faitn,fanit,ffaint,fiant

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of faint - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

afint2fainnt1faintt1faitn2fanit2ffaint1fiant2
Edit distance from "faint"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "faint"?
"faint" is spelled F-A-I-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /feɪnt/.
What does "faint" mean?
As an adjective, "faint" means: Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to lose consciousness
What words are commonly confused with "faint"?
"faint" is commonly confused with "fit", "fan", "fat". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "faint"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "faint" is /feɪnt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "faint"?
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, ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “faint”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is F-A-I-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /feɪnt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “fit” - see the side-by-side comparison. faint vs fit
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list