as in pretends
to present a false appearance of
I would never feign illness just to get out of a test
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Recent Examples of feigns
Audrey Hudson, twenty-four, is a gifted battlefield surgeon who feigns muteness to comfort Carter Reynolds, a combat soldier deafened by an explosion.
—
Chang Che, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2026
Someone who’s really living the Andrew Tate-like lifestyle Jacob only feigns is his bestie Cameron (Dylan Playfair).
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 7 Aug. 2025
The second man with a flail steps forward and feigns a move.
—Miguel Torres, AZCentral.com, 16 May 2025
Chang Che, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2026
Someone who’s really living the Andrew Tate-like lifestyle Jacob only feigns is his bestie Cameron (Dylan Playfair).
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 7 Aug. 2025
The second man with a flail steps forward and feigns a move.
—Miguel Torres, AZCentral.com, 16 May 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for feigns
Verb
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Pig-butchering scams, in which a stranger pretends to befriend you and then coaxes you into putting money into a cryptocurrency scam, don’t involve that same act now urgency.—
Rob Pegoraro,
PC Magazine,
1 June 2026
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In each new place, Charlie pretends to be Layla, hoping to ensnare an unsuspecting Stanley into his web of deceit.—
Nicole Briese,
PEOPLE,
28 May 2026
Verb
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The best outcome for a bondholder is that the borrower pays the coupon and returns the principal, which is exactly what the price already assumes.—
Dara-Abasi Ita,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
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Because the world assumes that all people are heteronormative and cisgenger, kids can often be on the back foot when talking about their relationships and identity.—
Taylor Grothe,
Parents,
4 June 2026
Verb
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The Supercomputer simulates the remaining fixtures of a season 10,000 times and analyses the results to create an average league table from those simulations.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
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The facility is likely the only one in the world that can do full-load, bidirectional testing that simulates both grid conditions and variable data-center loads.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Feigns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/feigns. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
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