faint
Americanadjective
-
lacking brightness, vividness, clearness, loudness, strength, etc..
a faint light;
a faint color;
a faint sound.
- Synonyms:
- dull, dim, ill-defined, indistinct
-
feeble or slight.
faint resistance;
faint praise;
a faint resemblance.
- Synonyms:
- weak, irresolute
-
feeling weak, dizzy, or exhausted; about to lose consciousness.
faint with hunger.
- Synonyms:
- languid
-
lacking courage; cowardly; timorous.
Faint heart never won fair maid.
- Synonyms:
- dastardly, timid, fearful, pusillanimous
-
Law. unfounded.
a faint action.
verb (used without object)
-
to lose consciousness temporarily.
-
to lose brightness.
-
Archaic. to grow weak; lose spirit or courage.
noun
adjective
-
lacking clarity, brightness, volume, etc
a faint noise
-
lacking conviction or force; weak
faint praise
-
feeling dizzy or weak as if about to lose consciousness
-
without boldness or courage; timid (esp in the combination faint-hearted )
-
no idea whatsoever
I haven't the faintest
verb
-
to lose consciousness, esp momentarily, as through weakness
-
archaic to fail or become weak, esp in hope or courage
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
fainternoun
-
faintishnessnoun
-
faintnessnoun
-
overfaintnessnoun
-
faintishadjective
-
overfaintadjective
-
unfaintingadjective
-
faintinglyadverb
-
faintlyadverb
-
overfaintlyadverb
-
unfaintlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
faintsimple
-
faintssimple
-
have faintedperfect
-
has faintedperfect
-
am faintingprogressive
-
are faintingprogressive
-
is faintingprogressive
-
have been faintingperfect progressive
-
has been faintingperfect progressive
Past
-
faintedsimple
-
had faintedperfect
-
was faintingprogressive
-
were faintingprogressive
-
had been faintingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of faint
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French: literally, “feigned,” past participle of faindre, feindre “to feign”; see feign
Explanation
Something faint has no courage or vigor. If you suddenly round the corner and see a gang of bullies staring straight at you, chances are you'll feel faint. Faint comes from the French feindre, for being cowardly or shirking duties. We usually use it to mean without great strength. If you faint, you pass out, from low blood supply to your brain. If you feel faint, you feel weak. Faint also means dim or vague. If you're staring out to sea, you might see the faint outline of an approaching ship. If you really can't remember the answer to something, say you "haven't the faintest idea."
Vocabulary lists containing faint
Unit 1: Telling Details
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Her face displays the trademark unibrow and faint mustache — a gender-bending look that, scholars say, reflects Kahlo’s defiant repudiation of the classic female aesthetic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
After watching a competitor faint from hunger during a fight, she said, she insisted it was time to leave.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Their faint light is also easily confused with that of much closer stars in our own galaxy.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
"My shifts at work landed on the same days, too. During my morning shower, I felt faint; I had to be realistic and call in sick. My body was completely exhausted, aching and cramping."
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
“Just for a minute or two,” said Duane in a faint voice.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Yasser regularly faints when she tries to stand.
From Barron's ● Mar. 22, 2026
When Louise, angling for attention, participates in her church’s Inner Beauty pageant, her talent is holding her breath until she faints.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026
O’Sullivan determined that Darcie was suffering psychosomatic seizures and faints, very real but not caused by a physical problem.
From Salon ● May 13, 2025
He sniffs Heather’s hair and faints from delight.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2024
Momma screamed, and I thought she was going to do one of those movie-style faints, she even put her hand over her forehead and staggered back a little bit.
From "The Watsons Go to Birmingham" by Christopher Paul Curtis
As brands go through creative directors like tissues, the connection to what made a house beloved seems to get fainter and fainter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
Most cell phones now use two GPS frequency bands -- one that is older and fainter, and a second that is newer and stronger.
From Barron's ● Mar. 8, 2026
Upcoming eROSITA all-sky scans will allow astronomers to observe even fainter and more distant quasars.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 27, 2025
Astronomers routinely observe galaxies that are thousands of times fainter and more distant than galaxies observed in the 1920s.
From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2025
Faster than before he followed, but the shadow grew ever fainter to his eyes.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
K2-18b may be silent for now, but scientists are steadily improving their ability to detect even the faintest signs of technology beyond our solar system if they are ever there to be heard.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
"I really haven't the faintest idea as to what I've done," he said.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
By the late 1960s, "he wasn't in the faintest a shy person", Kasmin recalled.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
She learned his signals, guessed words from the faintest cues and turned his minimal motion into living language.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
Whereas no one here has ever had the faintest cause for such delusions.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
I learned about chocolatines last year from the Journal’s Joshua Robinson, who fainted from embarrassment when I walked into a Toulouse patisserie and ordered a “chocolatini,” like it was happy hour at an airport Chili’s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
One 32-year-old Berliner, Diane, told AFP she had fainted from the heat once already, despite drinking three litres of water.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
She got hot standing at the grill and fainted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026
When someone fainted in the Oval Office in November, he barely reacted.
From Slate ● Jan. 26, 2026
A wave of nausea swept over me as it had that day I fainted in the field.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
As it worsens, however, it can lead to fatigue, chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting, heart failure, and in some cases premature death.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
Pilgrims perform most of the hajj's rites outdoors where more than a million devotees gather in stifling conditions, with many attendees succumbing to heatstroke, fainting spells and even cardiac arrest triggered by the heat.
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
Her condition makes her prone to fainting if she stands for long periods.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
Last month, Kordia was admitted to hospital for three days after having a seizure at the Alvarado, Texas, detention facility, where she also had fainting episodes.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
I’ve forgotten about fainting and about the stacks of plates, and about falling into the creek and also about seeing the Virgin Mary.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.