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
Sara Belcher, PEOPLE, 20 May 2026
When Zuccarello took a swipe with his stick and smacked McCarron in the leg, the big man responded with a Oscar-worthy acting job, feigning like he had been slashed on the wrist.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 20 Mar. 2026
Thanks for being there and at least feigning interest in my oddball life.
—Marla Jo Fisher, Oc Register, 18 Mar. 2026
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
Taylor ran his route perfectly, feigning a move to his left before turning upfield and finding a sliver of open space in the end zone.
—Ron Kroichick, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 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
Verb
All the while, the pair are doing their makeup on the plane ride over, feigning their different emergencies so as not to spoil the surprise.
—Sara Belcher, PEOPLE, 20 May 2026
When Zuccarello took a swipe with his stick and smacked McCarron in the leg, the big man responded with a Oscar-worthy acting job, feigning like he had been slashed on the wrist.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 20 Mar. 2026
Thanks for being there and at least feigning interest in my oddball life.
—Marla Jo Fisher, Oc Register, 18 Mar. 2026
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
Taylor ran his route perfectly, feigning a move to his left before turning upfield and finding a sliver of open space in the end zone.
—Ron Kroichick, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for feigning
Noun
-
Sipper talked about how her company trains with scalar field outputs of simulation data, and the meshes of objects.—
John Werner,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2026
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Actor Eric Stonestreet showed up to cheer on Mahomes as the three men duked it out in the racing simulation game.—
Lisa Gutierrez
May 21,
Kansas City Star,
21 May 2026
Verb
-
Stay open without pretending every detail is solved.—
Tarot.com,
Chicago Tribune,
24 May 2026
-
With the war’s turbulence on the economy more prevalent and the internet now throttled, Russians no longer have the luxury of pretending the war in Ukraine isn’t happening.—
Daniel DePetris,
Mercury News,
23 May 2026
Noun
-
His work was the subject of many forgeries, but Naranjo showed them grace.—
Sarah Moreno
May 22,
Miami Herald,
22 May 2026
-
Shortly after Green arrived in a BMW, authorities arrested and charged him with forgery and larceny.—
Erin Moriarty,
CBS News,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
And simulating Paul Baran’s idea became Sharla’s job.—
Laura Isensee,
Scientific American,
18 May 2026
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That point was acknowledged immediately with the title track – not played since 2009 – opening the show as motion-simulating video tilted and zipped through a vibrant carnival.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
Paul McCartney is a master of the fake-out.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
23 May 2026
-
The dangerous fake is more of a supply chain issue than a packaging one.—
Padmakumar Nair,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
Once stakeholders begin assuming that every image, video, or statement could be fabricated, institutional trust weakens across the board.—
Richard Torrenzano,
Fortune,
26 May 2026
-
And, teams assuming low-code handles anything can end up with fragile systems held together by workarounds.—
Nik Froehlich,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
Unprosecuted crimes against the public — such as the widespread sale of 78-cent postage stamps for 19 cents to 59 cents, rolls of 100, counterfeits all, for years online.—
Lucas Robinson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
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Its expert team enforces strict production rules, promotes the brand globally, fights counterfeits and certifies every wheel.—
Antonia Mortensen,
CNN Money,
2 May 2026
Noun
-
In a work culture that has spent a decade celebrating grit, Cowan’s quieter argument—that caring openly is the more rigorous path to performance, and that the expensive thing is not the pause but the pretense—may be the one most worth remembering on a Monday morning.—
Rodger Dean Duncan,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
-
According to Placer Superior Court filings, one false pretenses count and the personal identifying information charge stemmed from a June 21, 2025, incident.—
Sean Campbell,
Sacbee.com,
20 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Feigning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/feigning. Accessed 29 May. 2026.
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