fain 1 of 2

adjective

ˈfān How to pronounce fain (audio)
Definition of fainnext
as in willing
having a desire or inclination (as for a specified course of action) during the Renaissance most men of science and the arts were fain to express their noblest thoughts in Latin, the lingua franca of the learned

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

fain

2 of 2

adverb

as in rather
by choice or preference "I would fain not marry that suitor, my lord," the princess pleaded

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fain
  1. willing
  2. rather
  3. ready
  4. willingly
  5. glad
  6. inclined
Adjective
  • Shouldn’t Tamra take that as a sign to repair her relationships with the women rather than alienate the one person who is willing to look past her bad behavior?
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 17 July 2026
  • And while Californians continue to support state law mandating 100% of the state’s electricity come from renewable energy sources by 2045, only 38% of them are willing to pay more on their electrical bills for that shift.
    — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 16 July 2026
Definition of willing
Adverb
  • Evaluating how things went during an initial taste of action in the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League, Hannes Steinbach was rather pleased.
    — Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 18 July 2026
  • The only thing that felt rather bittersweet was that Sega’s people showed Virtua Fighter running on laptops at the end of the event, which, considering the company’s long and storied arcade history, was rather sad to see.
    — Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of rather
Adjective
  • In a market where leadership has rotated, stalled, and rotated again, Amazon is beginning to look like the next stock ready to reclaim the spotlight.
    — Jay Woods, CNBC, 16 July 2026
  • The store’s protein aisle sits alongside a growing lineup of ready-to-drink iced coffees and instant coffee, giving shoppers a way to build a caffeine-and-protein routine for a fraction of what a coffee shop run would cost.
    — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson July 16, Kansas City Star, 16 July 2026
Definition of ready
Adverb
  • The evidence presented during the trial, Gifford’s family said in the statement, showed that Gifford did not willingly go off with Sochor and his brother Gary Sochor that night.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 14 July 2026
  • And those are just two stories of many, says Franzen, who has issued trespassing orders to guests who will not leave willingly.
    — Hannah Seligson, Vanity Fair, 13 July 2026
Definition of willingly
Adjective
  • Not everyone will be glad to see the back of Reeves, said Politico.
    — Will Barker, TheWeek, 16 July 2026
  • More likely, Winnipeg just paid the going rate for 24-year-old secondary scorers and will be glad to have done so on an otherwise aging club.
    — Murat Ates, New York Times, 15 July 2026
Definition of glad
Adjective
  • The Mavericks likely wouldn’t have interest in taking on Nikola Jovic’s four year, $62 million contract, and the Heat (which has no tradable first round picks) isn’t inclined to attach draft assets to dump Jovic.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 16 July 2026
  • Its location would be obscure, so drivers would be less inclined to use it.
    — Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 12 July 2026
Definition of inclined
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Fain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fain. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of fain for Spanish Speakers

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