Basic+ Word of the Day: faint

faint (verb, adjective) past tense: fainted

"I felt faint while I was walking."

Faint means ‘to lose consciousness temporarily.”

• Beth stood up too quickly and fainted.
• Tom had the flu and fainted on his way to the kitchen.
• Gene thought he saw a ghost and fainted.

Faint also means ‘lacking loudness, brightness or strength.’

• The shy boy's voice was very faint.
• There was a faint glow on the horizon just before sunrise.
• The watercolor of the garden used faint shades of pink and green.

Don't confuse it with

feint: to make a movement to deceive an opponent. Example: “The fighter feinted with his left hand and hit with his right hand.”

Common uses

feel faint: feel weak. Example: “The pregnant woman felt faint every time she walked across the room.”

In pop culture

Watch this compilation of fainting scenes in movies. Do you think this is a good dramatic technique?

There are other meanings of faint.