1
as in mock
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality
the feigned applause that polite people give after a bad concert
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fake
not being or expressing what one appears to be or express
the feigned looks of innocence I got when I asked who had broken the lamp
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in pretended
to present a false appearance of
I would never feign illness just to get out of a test
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of feigned
Judy Kurtz, The Hill, 9 Sep. 2025
That lack of confidence is charming and funny; when the experts on With Love, Meghan mess up, their humility feels feigned and unnatural, but Martin’s embarrassment only motivates everyone to help him out.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2026
Outlaw country to the core, the Illinois native espouses an uncompromising independence and social-justice righteousness missing from the Nashville mainstream — and feigned for appearance’s sake in related circles.
—Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for feigned
Adjective
Stewart exclaimed with feigned enthusiasm.
—Judy Kurtz, The Hill, 9 Sep. 2025
That lack of confidence is charming and funny; when the experts on With Love, Meghan mess up, their humility feels feigned and unnatural, but Martin’s embarrassment only motivates everyone to help him out.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
Verb
Then, while Williams was stoic, Storrie feigned nervousness about presenting, contorting himself into knots.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2026
Outlaw country to the core, the Illinois native espouses an uncompromising independence and social-justice righteousness missing from the Nashville mainstream — and feigned for appearance’s sake in related circles.
—Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for feigned
Recent Examples of Synonyms for feigned
Adjective
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Pharmacy technician students practice compounding mock medications such as lip balms and creams.—
Wilborn P. Nobles III,
Dallas Morning News,
10 Feb. 2026
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The oversized mock-neck sweater tucks chicly into the pencil-leg pants, primed for rolling at the hems and styling with chunky sneakers for long travel days.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The agency allegedly used Bank of America accounts to lure young women with fake modeling offers, while financial records suggest the bank was aware of these suspicious connections, according to plaintiff’s claims.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Feb. 2026
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Some guests got very into it—one adopted a fake British accent for the duration.—
Rachel Syme,
New Yorker,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Then, an experimenter presented the bonobo with two empty, transparent cups and pretended to pour juice from an empty pitcher into each cup.—
Amarachi Orie,
CNN Money,
9 Feb. 2026
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Korea’s Kim Seon-yeong and Sweden’s Isabella Wranå pretended their brooms were air guitars.—
Zack Pierce,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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As Derya and Aziz’s hypocrisies, as upper-class intellectuals, are increasingly brought to the fore, Namal and Biçer’s conversational performances grow haggard and strained.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
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Gregg Phillips, an associate administrator at FEMA, said at a hearing this week that its disaster relief fund has sufficient balances to continue emergency response activities during a shutdown, but would become seriously strained in the event of a catastrophic disaster.—
Mary Clare Jalonick,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Haaland scored from the spot to secure City’s first victory in front of supporters at Anfield since 2003 and their first league double over Liverpool since 1936-37.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
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The top two seeds for the eight-team conference tournament receive double-byes into the semifinals, a significant advantage in a league that typically sends only its tournament champ to the 68-team NCAA Tournament.—
Oc Register,
Oc Register,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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My favourite spot, though, might well have been Paradiso, the see-and-be-seen après-ski spot lodged into the side of a mountain in the Corviglia ski area, some 6,000 feet up, for which Badrutt’s assumed management in early 2022.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 Feb. 2026
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There are some issues with properties that residents who moved to Portage in the last 15 years or so assumed always flooded, but many of those problems were caused by the city using slag sand when salt supplies were low to address ice on streets.—
Doug Ross,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Authorities did not provide additional details about the agents' apparently false statements.—
Nicole Acevedo,
NBC news,
13 Feb. 2026
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Nevertheless, Worden continued to promote the false claim to news outlets and hired a media consultant to amplify it, the documents said.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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On the opposite end of the spectrum, Tatianna points to cinnamon as a conductor of heat—one commonly used in lip plumper products to achieve a sultry pout.—
Essence,
Essence,
23 Nov. 2025
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The pop of color offers a shimmer-free (rare!) means of warming up a wedding look and works equally well at lip level.—
Calin Van Paris,
Vogue,
12 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Feigned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/feigned. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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