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
Literary Hub, 24 Feb. 2026
Akhparian asked while patting himself down and feigning to be in search of a weapon.
—Linh Tat, Daily News, 8 Feb. 2026
Prosecutors noted that even after Navy officials began to scrutinize his activities, Butler attempted to conceal his identity by using a fake name and feigning employment with a fictitious fuel division of a separate company.
—Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 16 Jan. 2026
Katz said, feigning familiarity with the leader’s influence and drawing laughs from the audience.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2025
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
Authorities explained Thursday that involved NBA players would alter their performance or take themselves out of a game — feigning injury or illness, for example — to ensure certain bets involving them paid out heavily.
—Addy Bink, The Hill, 23 Oct. 2025
Travis Kelce is feigning ignorance about that spicy new Taylor Swift track.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 8 Oct. 2025
Sometimes, migrants used ambulances like a taxi service, feigning injuries to get a ride from the border to the hospital, Riedel said.
—Daniel Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 7 May 2025
Verb
Camille smirks into her wine, feigning terror but secretly gleeful at the display.
—Literary Hub, 24 Feb. 2026
Akhparian asked while patting himself down and feigning to be in search of a weapon.
—Linh Tat, Daily News, 8 Feb. 2026
Prosecutors noted that even after Navy officials began to scrutinize his activities, Butler attempted to conceal his identity by using a fake name and feigning employment with a fictitious fuel division of a separate company.
—Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 16 Jan. 2026
Katz said, feigning familiarity with the leader’s influence and drawing laughs from the audience.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2025
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
Authorities explained Thursday that involved NBA players would alter their performance or take themselves out of a game — feigning injury or illness, for example — to ensure certain bets involving them paid out heavily.
—Addy Bink, The Hill, 23 Oct. 2025
Travis Kelce is feigning ignorance about that spicy new Taylor Swift track.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 8 Oct. 2025
Sometimes, migrants used ambulances like a taxi service, feigning injuries to get a ride from the border to the hospital, Riedel said.
—Daniel Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 7 May 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for feigning
Noun
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Supercomputers unlock new physics The breakthrough relied on large-scale hydrodynamical simulations that model how stellar material moves in three dimensions.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Weather simulations resemble climate simulations.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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There wouldn’t have been any point to our pretending not to be Jewish, because everybody thought of us as Jewish and that would never change.—
Nicholas Lemann,
New Yorker,
21 Feb. 2026
-
The series of snaps opens with the singer pretending to chat on an old-fashioned rotary dial phone while wearing a brown animal-print coat with leather and feather accents.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Over centuries, the fascination with relics has of course led to abuses, with thefts, forgeries and now online sales all part of their history.—
Nicole Winfield,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Superior Court Judge Michael Gustafson sentenced Michael Larson, 41, to 12 years in prison, suspended after 4 ½, after his guilty plea earlier to charges of evading responsibility and forgery.—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The date was set after NASA completed an elaborate fueling test and launch-day walkthrough Thursday, filling its Space Launch System rocket with more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellant and simulating nearly every step of the countdown to liftoff.—
Denise Chow,
NBC news,
20 Feb. 2026
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The approach of simulating thousands of possibilities and comparing results to physical evidence is transferable to other domains where partial physical evidence exists but documentation doesn’t.—
Hanna Wickes,
Miami Herald,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The letter to Hull in which Pender allegedly confessed to committing the murders was later deemed a fake, with Hull himself admitting that his cellmate wrote it.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
20 Feb. 2026
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Founder Sherille Riley, who previously worked as a facialist for high-end brands like La Prairie and Crème de la Mer, had until recently struggled to shop for K-beauty in person and initially bought the products online – only to run the risk of long shipping times or unknowingly buying a fake.—
Kati Chitrakorn,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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That changed a bit on a sunny Saturday in San Francisco, the contest assuming a smidgen of campaign heat — chanting crowds, sign-waving supporters, call-and-response from the audience — as the state party held its annual convention in this bluest of cities.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Mercury News,
25 Feb. 2026
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The mayor is expecting to distribute the payments before the end of March, assuming the ordinance passes both its first and final readings, with a final vote anticipated on March 10.—
Verónica Egui Brito,
Miami Herald,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Offering counterfeit, potentially dangerous, products to shoppers through third-party sellers on the marketplace opens Walmart up to liability and could erode the customer trust at the core of its brand.—
Gabrielle Fonrouge,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2026
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Each item passes through a multi-step process combining advanced imaging, database cross-references, and final expert verification, a hybrid system that eliminates bias, minimizes error, and safeguards agains increasingly sophisticated counterfeits.—
Tanya Benedicto Klich,
Forbes.com,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Cluely might have deployed a few provocative stunts to raise millions of dollars for a service that didn’t really work and could barely be said to exist, but Donald Boat did away with even the pretense.—
Sam Kriss,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
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Ever the showman, Marty relishes ditching the pretense and his wardrobe onstage, embracing his competitive streak.—
Emma Fraser,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Feigning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/feigning. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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