faint

1 of 3

adjective

ˈfānt

fainter; faintest

: hardly perceptible : dim

faint handwriting

: vague sense 2a

haven't the faintest idea

: weak, dizzy, and likely to faint

sick and faint from the pain

Jack London

: lacking courage and spirit : cowardly

faint of heart

: lacking strength or vigor : performed, offered, or accomplished weakly or languidly

faint praise

a faint smile on her lips

: producing a sensation of faintness : oppressive

the faint atmosphere of a tropical port

faintish

ˈfān-tish

adjective

faintishness noun

faintly adverb

faintness noun

faint

2 of 3

verb

fainted; fainting; faints

intransitive verb

: to lose consciousness because of a temporary decrease in the blood supply to the brain

archaic : to lose courage or spirit

archaic : to become weak

faint

3 of 3

noun

: the physiological action of fainting

also : the resulting condition : syncope sense 1

Example Sentences

Adjective We heard a faint noise. the faint glow of a distant light There was a faint smile on her lips. There's just a faint chance that the weather will improve by tomorrow. a faint reminder of their former greatness I'd better lie down; I feel faint. She felt faint from hunger. Verb He always faints at the sight of blood. She almost fainted from the pain. She suffers from fainting spells. Noun shocking news can cause a person to fall into a faint See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The Webb telescope, designed to observe faint, distant galaxies and other worlds, is an international mission between NASA and its partners, the European Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency.

Ashley Strickland, CNN, 30 Nov. 2022 Pacemakers are only occasionally used, most commonly when a thorough evaluation of the heart has shown that the heart rate becomes dangerously low (such as a pause of greater than three seconds between heartbeats, causing a faint).

Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 6 Oct. 2022 When the Frankenstein monster first appeared on screen as played by Boris Karloff, the first sight of his face was enough to make people faint in the theater.

Geek's Guide To The Galaxy, WIRED, 8 July 2022 The males of this species keep their lights on for up to 30 seconds at a time, scrawling faint, floating messages, and the females sit still below, gleaming back up silent, greenish answers.

Joshua Sokol, Scientific American, 16 Sep. 2022 The faint but bracing odor confirmed that these were garlic scapes.

Susan Brownstein, cleveland, 5 July 2022 Elsewhere, Desplechin and Peyr offer faint, slippery suggestions of childhood abuse that some viewers may key into more than others.

Guy Lodge, Variety, 20 May 2022 When Jacosta feels faint, Claire and Flora take her outside to a gazebo, where Claire gives her some medicine for her glaucoma.

Lincee Ray, EW.com, 4 Apr. 2022 Viewers who are faint of heart, prone to light headedness or have weak stomachs are advised to take extreme caution.

Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 19 Oct. 2022

Verb

Prior to the game, just as the national anthem had ended, assistant coach Chris Dailey appeared to faint and fell to the court.

Lila Bromberg, Hartford Courant, 20 Nov. 2022 Last month, there were reports that the film caused some audience members to faint or vomit during screenings.

Benjamin Vanhoose, Peoplemag, 2 Nov. 2022 There is a method in place to ensure soldiers honoring Queen Elizabeth II at her state funeral don't faint.

Dory Jackson, Peoplemag, 19 Sep. 2022 Light in body yet full in flavor, the mid-palate’s sweet rice and lemon spritz gives way to faint herbal hops at the finish.

Peter Rowe, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 July 2022 In the heightened climate crisis imagined in this novel, birds drop en masse from the sky and heat waves cause baseball players to faint mid-game.

The New Yorker, 9 May 2022 That year, at least five guards reportedly appeared to faint — lying face down in the pink gravel of Horse Guards Parade as temperatures hit 80 degrees.

Natasha Dado, PEOPLE.com, 1 Apr. 2022 The play delivered an all-time Cavs bench reaction, with Darius Garland jumping into the arms of Isaac Okoro, and Okoro pretending to faint.

Ashley Bastock, cleveland, 7 Mar. 2022 When combined with even a small amount of alcohol, Addyi causes users to faint from low blood pressure, while 40 percent of Vyleesi users experience nausea.

Lux Alptraum, Wired, 10 Feb. 2022

Noun

Its iconic Corbet’s Couloir run, however, with a terrifying 45-degree pitch, is not for the faint of heart.

Donna Bulseco, WSJ, 1 Dec. 2022 Finding the perfect pair of jeans is an endeavor not for the faint of heart.

Isabel Calkins Mata, Peoplemag, 23 Nov. 2022 Not for the faint of heart, but even a child can learn.

cleveland, 21 Nov. 2022 Shorting is an inherently risky strategy, though not one for the faint of heart.

Paul R. La Monica, CNN, 20 Nov. 2022 While such scenarios aren’t for the faint of heart, most of this sequel’s thought experiments don’t end in galactic apocalypse.

James B. Meigs, WSJ, 18 Nov. 2022 The new micro-point attachment is not for the faint of heart and delivers intense stimulation.

Stefani Sassos, M.s., R.d.n., C.s.o., C.d.n., Good Housekeeping, 16 Nov. 2022 Playing for Schaefer, a defensive-minded and demanding emotions-on-the-sleeve sort, isn’t for the faint of heart.

Nick Moyle, San Antonio Express-News, 10 Nov. 2022 Broughton shares that the immigration process is not for the faint of heart.

Margo Gabriel, refinery29.com, 6 Nov. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'faint.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English feint, faynt "deceiving, false, lacking in spirit or courage, listless, wearied, feeble, pale," borrowed from Anglo-French, "deceiving, false, lacking in spirit, weak," from present participle of feindre, faindre "to make, fabricate, pretend, dissemble, lose heart, fade" — more at feign

Verb

Middle English feinten, faynten "to pretend, lack spirit, become enfeebled, grow weak, fade," verbal derivative of feint, faynt "deceiving, lacking in spirit, wearied" — more at faint entry 1

Noun

noun derivative of faint entry 2

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

1792, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of faint was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century