feint

/feɪnt/

//feɪnt// noun

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

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

The verdict

“feint” is uncommon English (frequency #51,701 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,701
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A movement made to confuse an opponent; a dummy.

Corpus desk

Index EN-feint · feint · English

feint · rank #51,701 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,701
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH Fazio

Nearest frequency peer: Fazio (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “feint”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “feint” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for feint
PropertyValue
Headwordfeint
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/feɪnt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#51,701
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “feint” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).feintfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Fazio” (#51,700), “Fergusson” (#51,702), “Fanta” (#51,699). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “feint” is #51,701. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

feint is uncommon English at frequency #51,701 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /feɪnt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

feint doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is borrowed from French feinte (“dummy, feint”), from feindre (“to fake, feign”), from Old French feindre, faindre, from Latin fingere, the present active infinitive of fingō (“to alter the truth to deceive, dissemble, feign, pretend; to fashion, f… The correct English form is feint, spelled F-E-I-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A movement made to confuse an opponent; a dummy.
  2. 2
    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. 3
    Something feigned; a false or pretend appearance; a pretence or stratagem.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how feint appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. In October, Friburg had been taken by a Feint of the Duke of Crequi, before the Duke of Lorrain cou'd come to relieve it; […]
  2. Nothing could be more uncertain than the intentions of the French marshal [André Masséna], and Lord Wellington [Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington] felt, that by an incautious movement, his army must be seriously committed—Massena's retreat might only be a feint to draw the allies from their position—while by turning Monte Junta, he might make a sud…

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from French feinte (“dummy, feint”), from feindre (“to fake, feign”), from Old French feindre, faindre, from Latin fingere, the present active infinitive of fingō (“to alter the truth to deceive, dissemble, feign, pretend; to fashion, form, shape”). The verb is derived from the noun. Cognates * Italian finta * Occitan fencha, fenha * Old Spanish finta (modern Spanish finta (“dummy, feint”))

This word in other languages

finta(Español)feinte(Français)Finte(Deutsch)finta(Português)

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 "feint"?
"feint" is spelled F-E-I-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /feɪnt/.
What does "feint" mean?
As a noun, "feint" means: A movement made to confuse an opponent; a dummy.
How do you pronounce "feint"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "feint" 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 "feint"?
The noun is borrowed from French feinte (“dummy, feint”), from feindre (“to fake, feign”), from Old French feindre, faindre, from Latin fingere, the present active infinitive of fingō (“to alter the truth to deceive, dissemble, feign, pretend; to ... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "feint", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Fazio#51,700Fanta#51,699exude#51,694Essie#51,690

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list