faint

  • adjective 1 (of a sight, smell, or sound) barely perceptible. 2 (of a hope, chance, or idea) slight. 3 close to losing consciousness.

  • verb briefly lose consciousness because of an insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain.

  • noun a sudden loss of consciousness.

  — DERIVATIVES faintly adverb faintness noun.

  — ORIGIN Old French, from Latin fingere ‘mould, contrive’; related to FEIGN.

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