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
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
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
-
Training exercises like the flight simulation allow the dogs to better serve the visually impaired who may be in need of a guide dog one day.—
Daily News,
Daily News,
31 Jan. 2026
-
The simulation component runs on Nvidia Isaac Sim hosted on Azure infrastructure.—
Janakiram MSV,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
But pretending the problem is purely technical misses the point.—
Allen Buchanan,
Oc Register,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Anyway, Amanda brings it up again, pretending to be curious but really just making the distinction known between the other women, who used ghostwriters, and herself, who didn’t but should have.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The defendant, 27, has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, including weapons and forgery charges in Pennsylvania state court, where he was arrested at an Altoona McDonald’s in December 2024.—
Lorena O’Neil,
Rolling Stone,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Accused by multiple families of inappropriately touching children, he was sentenced to probation on a forgery charge in 2022.—
Todd Feurer,
CBS News,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The hourslong rehearsal involved filling the rocket with more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellant and simulating each step of the launch countdown as would occur on the actual day.—
Denise Chow,
NBC news,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Strong prompts improve decision-making by simulating options quickly.—
Rodger Dean Duncan,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
For now, the small-cap breakout to a new high should be respected after so many head fakes since 2021.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
26 Jan. 2026
-
In the passing game, McDaniel uses a wide array of play-action fakes to suck linebackers toward the line of scrimmage, creating windows in the middle of the field.—
Daniel Popper,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But that is what happened on Monday, as 18-year-old James Wilson was thrust into the spotlight, assuming an unlikely leading role on transfer deadline day.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Both Iger and his predecessor, Michael Eisner, began their careers in network television and had extensive Hollywood connections before assuming the CEO perch.—
Josef Adalian,
Vulture,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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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
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Court records show Walshe pleaded guilty in 2021 to wire fraud after selling counterfeit Andy Warhol paintings online.—
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
For two hours, everyone agreed to the spectacle, and in that pretense, honesty found a surprising foothold.—
Jerry Brewer,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
-
There is no longer even pretense of remorse or accountability.—
Binaifer Nowrojee,
Time,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Feigning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/feigning. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
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