Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Faint

Faint

(fānt)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Fainter
(-ẽr)
;
sup
erl.
Faintest
.]
[OE.
feint
,
faint
, false, faint, F.
feint
, p. p. of
feindre
to feign, suppose, hesitate. See
Feign
, and cf.
Feint
.]
1.
Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to swoon;
as,
faint
with fatigue, hunger, or thirst
.
2.
Wanting in courage, spirit, or energy; timorous; cowardly; dejected; depressed;
as, “
Faint
heart ne’er won fair lady
.”
Old Proverb.
3.
Lacking distinctness; hardly perceptible; striking the senses feebly; not bright, or loud, or sharp, or forcible; weak;
as, a
faint
color, or sound
.
4.
Performed, done, or acted, in a weak or feeble manner; not exhibiting vigor, strength, or energy; slight;
as,
faint
efforts;
faint
resistance.
The
faint
prosecution of the war.
Sir J. Davies.

Faint

,
Noun.
The act of fainting, or the state of one who has fainted; a swoon.
[R.]
See
Fainting
,
Noun.
The saint,
Who propped the Virgin in her
faint
.
Sir W. Scott.

Faint

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Fainted
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Fainting
.]
1.
To become weak or wanting in vigor; to grow feeble; to lose strength and color, and the control of the bodily or mental functions; to swoon; – sometimes with away. See
Fainting
,
Noun.
Hearing the honor intended her, she
fainted
away.
Guardian.
If I send them away fasting . . . they will
faint
by the way.
Mark viii. 8.
2.
To sink into dejection; to lose courage or spirit; to become depressed or despondent.
If thou
faint
in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
Prov. xxiv. 10.
3.
To decay; to disappear; to vanish.
Gilded clouds, while we gaze upon them,
faint
before the eye.
Pope.

Faint

,
Verb.
T.
To cause to faint or become dispirited; to depress; to weaken.
[Obs.]
It
faints
me to think what follows.
Shakespeare

Webster 1828 Edition

Faint

FAINT

,
Adj.
[L. vanus, whence to vanish. Eng. to wane.]
1.
weak; languid; inclined to swoon; as, to be rendered faint by excessive evacuations.
2.
Weak; feeble; languid; exhausted; as faint with fatigue, hunger or thirst.
3.
Weak, as color; not bright or vivid; not strong; as a faint color; a faint red or blue; a faint light.
4.
Feeble; weak, as sound; not loud; as a faint sound; a faint voice.
5.
Imperfect; feeble; not striking; as a faint resemblance or image.
6.
Cowardly; timorous. A faint heart never wins a fair lady.
7.
Feeble; not vigorous; not active; as a faint resistance; a faint exertion.
8.
Dejected; depressed; dispirited.
My heart is faint. Lam. 1.

FAINT

, v.i.
1.
To lose the animal functions; to lose strength and color, and become senseless and motionless; to swoon; sometimes with away. he fainted for loss of blood.
On hearing the honor intended her, she fainted away.
2.
To become feeble; to decline or fail in strength and vigor; to be weak.
If I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way. Mark 8.
3.
To sink into dejection; to lose courage or spirit.
Let not your hearts faint. Deut. 20.
If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. Prov. 24.
4.
To decay; to disappear; to vanish.
Gilded clouds, while we gaze on them, faint before the eye.

FAINT

,
Verb.
T.
To deject; to depress; to weaken. [Unusual.]

Definition 2024

faint

faint

English

Adjective

faint ‎(comparative fainter, superlative faintest)

  1. Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to lose consciousness
    I felt faint after my fifth gin and tonic.
  2. Lacking courage, spirit, or energy; cowardly; dejected
    "Faint heart ne'er won fair lady." Robert Burns - To Dr. Blackjack.
  3. hardly perceptible; not bright, or loud, or sharp, or forcible
    There was a faint red light in the distance.
  4. Performed, done, or acted, in a weak or feeble manner; not exhibiting vigor, strength, or energy
    faint efforts
    faint resistance
    • Sir J. Davies
      the faint prosecution of the war
    • 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 243b.
      do you have the faintest understanding of what they mean?
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

faint ‎(plural faints)

  1. The act of fainting, syncope.
  2. (rare) The state of one who has fainted; a swoon.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English fainten, feynten, from the adjective (see above).

Verb

faint ‎(third-person singular simple present faints, present participle fainting, simple past and past participle fainted)

  1. (intransitive) To lose consciousness. Caused by a lack of oxygen or nutrients to the brain, usually as a result of a suddenly reduced blood flow (may be caused by emotional trauma, loss of blood or various medical conditions).
    • Bible, Mark viii. 8
      If I send them away fasting […] they will faint by the way.
    • Guardian
      Hearing the honour intended her, she fainted away.
  2. To sink into dejection; to lose courage or spirit; to become depressed or despondent.
    • Bible, Proverbs xxiv. 10
      If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
  3. To decay; to disappear; to vanish.
    • Alexander Pope
      Gilded clouds, while we gaze upon them, faint before the eye.
Synonyms
Translations

Anagrams

Welsh

Alternative forms

  • pa faint (literary)

Etymology

Shortened from pa faint ‎(“what amount”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /vai̯nt/

Pronoun

faint

  1. how much, how many

Usage notes

Faint means either how many, followed by o and the plural form of a noun with soft mutation, or how much, preceding o and the singular form of a noun, again with soft mutation. Sawl corresponds only to English how many and is followed by the singular form of a noun.

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, usually form, shape, frame, form in thought, imagine, conceive, contrive, devise, feign”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /feɪ̯nt/
  • Rhymes: -eɪnt
  • Homophone: feint

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