as in pretending
to present a false appearance of
I would never feign illness just to get out of a test
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of feigning
Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 27 Oct. 2025
Travis Kelce is feigning ignorance about that spicy new Taylor Swift track.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 8 Oct. 2025
Verb
Federal prosecutors claimed that Rozier was feigning the injury in front of an arena full of paying, unsuspecting fans.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 27 Oct. 2025
Travis Kelce is feigning ignorance about that spicy new Taylor Swift track.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 8 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for feigning
Noun
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These simulations enable trainees to practice responding to complex crisis scenarios in a safe, repeatable environment.—
Adam Stone,
USA Today,
11 Nov. 2025
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Computer simulations will be used to design the optimal shape and ensure the structural integrity of the natural fiber rotor blades.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
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However, Cena outsmarted him by grabbing the chair, throwing it next to Dom, and pretending to be down on the mat.—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
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In the 43-part series, Monroe calls several churches and other places of worship pretending to be a mother in need of formula for her baby.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
11 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Pëllumb Petritaj, who oversees many of Shehu’s Albanian properties, was found guilty of using forgery to obtain land on behalf of the Shehu family.—
Lindita Cela,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
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The attorney’s office said Owens was indicted on one count of perjury, one count of fraudulent schemes and artifices, two counts of taking the identity of another, two counts of forgery, and one count of theft by extortion.—
Jenna Sundel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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In recent years, Beijing has increased pressure on the island's leadership, including by staging large-scale exercises simulating a blockade.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Nov. 2025
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This specific model flipped riders on their stomachs at great heights and through several inversions, with the experience simulating flight.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Why fakes — and how to spot them An information vacuum seems to have encouraged imposters.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
9 Nov. 2025
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Over the next three days, authorities say Buzzard appeared to swap wigs, trading fake, honey blonde curls for a darker wig closer to the style Melodee was seen in.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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As a result, Kansas City will rely on Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt to continue sharing the load in the offensive backfield down the stretch of the season and into the playoffs -- assuming the Chiefs earn a place there come January.—
Max Dible,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
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And that’s assuming that China, already Saudi’s biggest trade partner, doesn’t also look to partner with the kingdom on its metals ambitions and play spoiler to the West’s goal of creating an alternative.—
Matthew Martin,
semafor.com,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Superfakes follows a small-time Chinatown luxury counterfeit dealer who enters a dangerous black-market underworld to fund a life of suburban respectability for her family.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
27 Oct. 2025
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While fake goods have exchanged hands in informal markets since ancient times, the growth of online marketplaces has contributed to the rise in counterfeits because of how easy online shopping and selling have become.—
Gabrielle Fonrouge,Paige Tortorelli,
CNBC,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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His memoir told of workhouse guards beating prisoners on the least pretense, and of one guard who regularly shoved prisoners down flights of stairs.—
Equal Justice Initiative,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
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The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime said in a May report that women from more than 20 African countries had been recruited under false pretences to make drones for Russia’s war.—
Reuters 16 hr ago,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Feigning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/feigning. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
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