as in pretending
to present a false appearance of
I would never feign illness just to get out of a test
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of feigning
Linh Tat, Daily News, 8 Feb. 2026
Prosecutors noted that even after Navy officials began to scrutinize his activities, Butler attempted to conceal his identity by using a fake name and feigning employment with a fictitious fuel division of a separate company.
—Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 16 Jan. 2026
Katz said, feigning familiarity with the leader’s influence and drawing laughs from the audience.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2025
Federal prosecutors claimed that Rozier was feigning the injury in front of an arena full of paying, unsuspecting fans.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 27 Oct. 2025
Authorities explained Thursday that involved NBA players would alter their performance or take themselves out of a game — feigning injury or illness, for example — to ensure certain bets involving them paid out heavily.
—Addy Bink, The Hill, 23 Oct. 2025
Travis Kelce is feigning ignorance about that spicy new Taylor Swift track.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 8 Oct. 2025
Sometimes, migrants used ambulances like a taxi service, feigning injuries to get a ride from the border to the hospital, Riedel said.
—Daniel Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 7 May 2025
Verb
Akhparian asked while patting himself down and feigning to be in search of a weapon.
—Linh Tat, Daily News, 8 Feb. 2026
Prosecutors noted that even after Navy officials began to scrutinize his activities, Butler attempted to conceal his identity by using a fake name and feigning employment with a fictitious fuel division of a separate company.
—Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 16 Jan. 2026
Katz said, feigning familiarity with the leader’s influence and drawing laughs from the audience.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2025
Federal prosecutors claimed that Rozier was feigning the injury in front of an arena full of paying, unsuspecting fans.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 27 Oct. 2025
Authorities explained Thursday that involved NBA players would alter their performance or take themselves out of a game — feigning injury or illness, for example — to ensure certain bets involving them paid out heavily.
—Addy Bink, The Hill, 23 Oct. 2025
Travis Kelce is feigning ignorance about that spicy new Taylor Swift track.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 8 Oct. 2025
Sometimes, migrants used ambulances like a taxi service, feigning injuries to get a ride from the border to the hospital, Riedel said.
—Daniel Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 7 May 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for feigning
Noun
-
To pinpoint the silk’s secret, an interdisciplinary team used a high-tech toolkit that included AlphaFold3 modeling, molecular simulations, and NMR spectroscopy.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Such detailed military simulation games often garner small but loyal followings, and rarely break into the wider gaming community.—
Archie Clarke,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Chris Kreider, winger, B+ Jacob Trouba, defenseman, B+ Both players were jettisoned by the New York Rangers, who sunk in the standings and have continued selling off after pretending as though their leadership group was the issue.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
7 Feb. 2026
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The new study provides the first evidence of an animal pretending in a situation researchers could control.—
Evan Bush,
NBC news,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Federal officials said Singh was convicted in state court in 2014 on drug, weapon and forgery charges and was sentenced to five years in prison.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
5 Feb. 2026
-
The defendant, 27, has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, including weapons and forgery charges in Pennsylvania state court, where he was arrested at an Altoona McDonald’s in December 2024.—
Lorena O’Neil,
Rolling Stone,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
One of his chief responsibilities is preparing the scout-team offense, which is tasked every practice with simulating the next opponent in an 11-on-11 setting against the Pats’ starting defense.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
8 Feb. 2026
-
The hourslong rehearsal involved filling the rocket with more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellant and simulating each step of the launch countdown as would occur on the actual day.—
Denise Chow,
NBC news,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The overwhelming motive for the early fakes was to provide entertainment — about three-quarters of the images in the exhibition were created for this purpose, Rooseboom said.—
Lianne Kolirin,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Drake had taken a risk, executed the perfect fake.—
Tim Rohan,
NBC news,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Johnson cannot afford to lose more than one Republican, assuming all members are present and Democrats are united against the measure being voted on that would set the rules for debating a bill to boost domestic production of critical minerals.—
Justin Papp,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2026
-
The instinct was to start with the largest model possible, assuming that adaptation would naturally improve performance.—
Abhas Ricky,
Fortune,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Each item passes through a multi-step process combining advanced imaging, database cross-references, and final expert verification, a hybrid system that eliminates bias, minimizes error, and safeguards agains increasingly sophisticated counterfeits.—
Tanya Benedicto Klich,
Forbes.com,
16 Jan. 2026
-
Court records show Walshe pleaded guilty in 2021 to wire fraud after selling counterfeit Andy Warhol paintings online.—
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
This is not an e-bike; there are no pedals and, interestingly, no pretense of a bicycle categorization to blur regulatory lines.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
4 Feb. 2026
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Wang faces four counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious injury, one count of kidnapping, and two counts of larceny over $1,200 by false pretense.—
Michelle Lee,
PEOPLE,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Feigning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/feigning. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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