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
Jason Quick, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
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
Verb
Dillon Brooks antagonizing, Devin Booker feigning indifference.
—Jason Quick, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for feigning
Noun
-
Our simulations showed how and why changing the electrode potential achieves hydrogen production on TiO2.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Mar. 2026
-
The North in previous years has conducted numerous salvo launches of missiles or artillery while describing them as simulations of nuclear attacks against targets in South Korea.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Marcus Figueroa was stabbed 25 times but survived after pretending to be dead until Ricks left the apartment.—
Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
12 Mar. 2026
-
City Hall needs to stop pretending the job is getting done and just do it.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
7 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Investigators say 58-year-old Deborah Callaway is now facing two counts of elder exploitation, two counts of elder trafficking, financial transaction card fraud, theft by taking, and third-degree forgery.—
Dan Raby,
CBS News,
12 Mar. 2026
-
The forgery charges are felonies and the elector charge is a misdemeanor.—
Jessica Seaman,
Denver Post,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Pentesting helps businesses prepare for these situations by simulating how attackers typically operate.—
Malana VanTyler
March 6,
Miami Herald,
6 Mar. 2026
-
That crash occurred during the FIA systems checks that take place the day before every F1 practice day, with the safety car and medical car simulating a race on the otherwise empty track.—
Madeline Coleman,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The fake was wrong about Karimian, but by the time the Minab strike happened, audiences were primed to believe that a school was a legitimate military target, not the site of a civilian catastrophe.—
Mahsa Alimardani,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
-
In this clip, Simpson got his head around after the play fake, saw the backside underneath defender run with the through route.—
Ted Nguyen,
New York Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The bottom line Savers can earn between $50 and $150 with a $5,000 deposit made into a money market or high-yield savings account in 2026, starting this month, assuming interest rates here remain steady.—
Matt Richardson,
CBS News,
16 Mar. 2026
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Ashley said among misperceptions people have is assuming adult children living with them can no longer be claimed as dependents.—
Francine Knowles,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Superfakes is about a small-time Chinatown luxury counterfeit dealer who enters a dangerous black-market underworld in order to fund a life of suburban respectability for her family.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
18 Mar. 2026
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By 2009, Nakamoto took Bitcoin from theory to reality, mining the Genesis Block, and then, once the rules were set, protections against counterfeits were secured, and Bitcoin began to circulate—still worth next to nothing—Nakamoto vanished.—
Clara Molot,
Vanity Fair,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
So, since October 7th, there has not been even a pretense of a buffer between the violent settlers and the Army.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2026
-
With most of the master’s level degrees, any pretense of value beyond rendering the prospective students more salable in the workforce is often dispensed with entirely.—
James Cramer,
Baltimore Sun,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Feigning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/feigning. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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