Find the word definition

Crossword clues for faint

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
faint
I.adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a dizzy/fainting spell (=one when you feel unable to stand steadily and your head feels unclear)
▪ She must have had a dizzy spell and fallen.
a faint/soft click (=not loud)
▪ There was only a faint click from the gun's trigger mechanism.
a light/slight/faint breeze
▪ The curtains lifted in the light breeze.
a little/faint/slight smile
▪ She gave him an apologetic little smile.
a remote/faint possibility (=something that is not very likely)
▪ There's no point worrying about such a remote possibility.
a slight/faint accent
▪ He has a very slight accent.
a slight/faint resemblance (=not strong)
▪ Don't you think she has a slight resemblance to that blonde singer in Abba?
damn (sb/sth) with faint praise (=show that you think someone or something is not good by only praising them a little)
faint praise (=comments that seem to praise someone, but in a way that does not really give them much praise)
▪ He wins faint praise as ‘the only candidate with a grain of sense’.
faint
▪ the faint perfume of a spring woodland
faint (=not strong)
▪ I noticed a faint smell of perfume.
faint
▪ The star is faint but visible.
faint/soft (=not loud)
▪ The sound was so faint I wasn’t sure what it was at first.
mild/faint amusement
▪ Daniel looked at her with mild amusement.
not have the faintest/foggiest notion (=not know or understand something at all)
▪ He had not the foggiest notion how far he might have to walk.
weak/faint
▪ The boy's pulse was very weak.
weak/faint
▪ The signals were too weak for the receiver to pick up.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
echo
▪ The exalted status of peers such as the Duke of Norfolk is a faint echo of this power in the land.
▪ There was the faint echo of voices rolling up to the highest balcony seats.
▪ From somewhere far-off in the building, he could hear a faint echo of the nurses' choir.
glimmer
▪ He looked across the sea: a faint glimmer of pale light was rising in the midnight-blue sky.
▪ On her face appeared the faint glimmer of a smile.
▪ There was a faint glimmer of light from her window; it was from the night-light which she kept burning.
▪ But through the murk there was a faint glimmer of light.
glow
▪ A few emergency circuits gave off a faint glow.
▪ When I saw the faint glow of light in the distance, it scarcely registered with me.
▪ The lamp beside his bed threw a faint glow over his swollen, passionate, tormented face.
▪ When the first faint glow of dawn crept into the cave, Moon-Watcher saw that his father had died in the night.
▪ A faint glow came through an opaque window which must belong to one of the cloakrooms.
▪ The faint glow of a match shone through the door from the house.
▪ The door was locked, the room unlit but for the faint glow of a small screen to one side of the desk.
hope
▪ The faint hope he had offered shrivelled and died in the heat of the hungry, leaping flames.
▪ The last faint hope that there had been some mistake died.
▪ The former Chelsea man duly obliged with two headers to keep alive Rangers' faint hopes of a title challenge.
▪ The shares had just started to recover on faint hopes of a busy festive season.
▪ His heart sank, his faint hope of creating an opportunity to escape crushed.
▪ Fabia returned to her room, but her faint hopes were already getting fainter.
▪ I thought about letting it ring, but there was a faint hope that it might be Sally.
▪ That uncertainty urges us to look beyond the present, with a faint hope to control our future.
light
▪ Standing all day on the wet clay floor under the dropping ceiling in the faint light cast by tallow candles was grim.
▪ A laser transmitted faint light signals to an electronic detector.
▪ In the distance I could see a faint light, and I decided to try to reach it.
▪ A faint light now appears behind the beaded curtain of one of the houses that face the courtyard.
▪ I inspected the room in the faint light coming in around the shutters.
▪ In the faint light of what is left of day, she can barely make out the road ahead.
▪ He knew he was quite safe, yet he felt increasingly tense as he ascended the steep path in the faint light.
▪ A street lamp threw faint light and out of it came a young woman.
possibility
▪ There remained a faint possibility that Newley would try to identify the person who collected the money.
praise
▪ At the product's launch, the company took time out to damn 3Com's boundary routing scheme with faint praise.
▪ With these words of faint praise, Maskelyne tactfully conceded a few major flaws in the lunar distance method.
▪ If that seems like faint praise, you should read the dozen most recent books on Paradise Lost.
scent
▪ On my hands and knees and with my eyes shut, I could smell their faint scent.
▪ There was a faint scent of ammonia in the air.
▪ Standing so close, she was aware of a faint scent of expensive aftershave, and his shirt had felt like silk.
▪ The faint scent of essential oils fills the air.
▪ A faint scent of tobacco and fish lingered, even though one of the windows had been opened.
smell
▪ In my bed is a faint smell of excrement.
▪ There was a faint smell of hay in my room, even in that weather, even with the windows closed.
▪ A faint smell of frying bacon drifted up from the kitchen.
▪ As the steam drifted toward him, it seemed to bring with it a faint smell of meat.
▪ He detected the faint smell of blood just before the familiar but oddly stagnant odor of Jinju came rushing toward him.
▪ A faint smell of cooking emerged from the kitchen.
▪ Something somewhere in here may be rotting; there is a faint smell.
smile
▪ Her head was lowered in obedience, but there was a faint smile on her cherry lips.
▪ The appraiser shut the bathroom door, and everyone looked around with faint smiles.
▪ He exhaled sharply and managed a faint smile.
▪ A faint smile eased her heavy mouth.
▪ He could not resist a faint smile creeping over his face.
▪ Hannah nodded her head again, a faint smile creeping across her face.
▪ She found the make-up room and went in, a faint smile playing about her lips as she looked round.
▪ Lee went out the north door, a faint smile on his face.
sound
▪ And the faint sound of movement from below told her she was not the only one.
▪ Finally we heard a faint sound in the distance and scrambled into the woods.
▪ As he reached out for the cheese, he heard a faint sound behind him ... Anthea?
▪ The faint sound of his cello, as I lay tucked up in bed, is woven into my childhood memories.
▪ He couldn't even hear faint sounds from the next apartment without his imagination putting together some unwholesome scene of matching action.
▪ Sure enough, not long afterwards she heard the first faint sounds of pursuit.
▪ And then his ears caught a faint sound.
▪ A faint sound from below caught her ear.
trace
▪ There are faint traces of tyre on the road, but no serious skidding.
▪ Actually there is a faint trace of saccharine here.
voice
▪ She had just pressed it a second time when she heard a faint voice above the High Street traffic.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ I could just make out the faint outline of the cliffs.
▪ Jean opened the window, and heard the faint sound of the bells drifting across the Old Town.
▪ On the wall you could see the faint outline of where a picture had once hung.
▪ The men went away, and we could hear their voices get fainter and fainter.
▪ There was silence for a moment as they held each other's eyes, broken only by the faint sound of dance music from down below.
▪ There were a few faint pencil lines on the page.
▪ We heard a faint noise coming from the room.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ A second set of shadows appeared; at first long and faint, they shortened and sharpened rapidly.
▪ Before she got there, however, there was a faint cracking from the surrounding darkness.
▪ Far down the inverted telescope he saw the faint white figure of May Welland-in New York.
▪ For a moment she looked quite faint, but with a great effort she stood her ground.
▪ He could not resist a faint smile creeping over his face.
▪ Immediately four faint, narrow lines appeared, bracketing a tiny and undistinguished star.
▪ M56 is not at all prominent, but shows up as a faint patch of light.
▪ Then Freitag made a faint gesture to his partner, who put away his pen and notebook.
II.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
almost
Almost fainting from lack of air, she could only answer in choked gasps.
▪ When he stood up, he almost fainted.
▪ She was still feeling dizzy and sick, and felt very annoyed at herself for almost fainting in Caroline's flat.
▪ Ronni almost fainted as she imagined she could feel the beat of his heart.
▪ He might need it, his eye; that first view, an almighty fright, he had almost fainted.
▪ Clare almost fainted from surprise and anxiety, horror and shame.
nearly
▪ These were removed and - oh, sweet Lord, I nearly fainted!
▪ Why had she nearly fainted when I had told her about the letter?
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ I must have fainted, and when I came to I didn't know where I was.
▪ I need to go outside. I feel as if I'm going to faint.
▪ It was hot and crowded, and several people fainted.
▪ One of the soldiers guarding the palace fainted in the heat.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Almost fainting from lack of air, she could only answer in choked gasps.
▪ Flatch replied, determined not to faint.
▪ He wondered whether he might not faint away.
▪ Hi, Robyn, Don't faint with shock, but I felt like writing you a letter!
▪ Hyperventilation and Anxiety Symptoms Symptoms of a panic attack initiated by adrenalin can never cause us to faint or be sick.
▪ Just went around in my wrapper all the livelong day, my mama would faint.
▪ My grandmother continued to have fainting fits and hysterical fits.
III.noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ In the eighth round, she faced syncope, which means a faint or swoon.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Faint

Faint \Faint\, n. The act of fainting, or the state of one who has fainted; a swoon. [R.] See Fainting, n.

The saint, Who propped the Virgin in her faint.
--Sir W. Scott.

Faint

Faint \Faint\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fainted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fainting.]

  1. To become weak or wanting in vigor; to grow feeble; to lose strength and color, and the control of the bodily or mental functions; to swoon; -- sometimes with away. See Fainting, n.

    Hearing the honor intended her, she fainted away.
    --Guardian.

    If I send them away fasting . . . they will faint by the way.
    --Mark viii. 8.

  2. To sink into dejection; to lose courage or spirit; to become depressed or despondent.

    If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
    --Prov. xxiv. 10.

  3. To decay; to disappear; to vanish.

    Gilded clouds, while we gaze upon them, faint before the eye.
    --Pope.

Faint

Faint \Faint\ (f[=a]nt), a. [Compar. Fainter (-[~e]r); superl. Faintest.] [OE. feint, faint, false, faint, F. feint, p. p. of feindre to feign, suppose, hesitate. See Feign, and cf. Feint.]

  1. Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to swoon; as, faint with fatigue, hunger, or thirst.

  2. Wanting in courage, spirit, or energy; timorous; cowardly; dejected; depressed; as, ``Faint heart ne'er won fair lady.''
    --Old Proverb.

  3. Lacking distinctness; hardly perceptible; striking the senses feebly; not bright, or loud, or sharp, or forcible; weak; as, a faint color, or sound.

  4. Performed, done, or acted, in a weak or feeble manner; not exhibiting vigor, strength, or energy; slight; as, faint efforts; faint resistance.

    The faint prosecution of the war.
    --Sir J. Davies.

Faint

Faint \Faint\, v. t. To cause to faint or become dispirited; to depress; to weaken. [Obs.]

It faints me to think what follows.
--Shak.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
faint

c.1300, "enfeebled; wearied, exhausted," from Old French faint, feint "false, deceitful; sham, artificial; weak, faint, lazy, indolent, cowardly," past participle of feindre "hesitate, falter, be indolent, show weakness, avoid one's duty by pretending" (see feign). Also from c.1300 as "deceitful; unreliable; false." Meaning "wanting in spirit or courage, cowardly" (a sense now mostly encountered in faint-hearted) is from early 14c. From early 15c. of actions, functions, colors, etc., "weak, feeble, poor." Meaning "producing a feeble impression upon the senses" is from 1650s.

faint

c.1300, "grow weak, become enfeebled," also "lack courage or spirit, be faint-hearted," and "to pretend, feign;" from faint (adj.). Sense of "swoon, lose consciousness" is from c.1400. Also used in Middle English of the fading of colors, flowers, etc. Related: Fainted; fainting. For Chaucer and Shakespeare, also a transitive verb ("It faints me").

faint

c.1300, "faintness, faint-heartedness," from faint (adj.). From 1808 as "a swoon."

Wiktionary
faint
  1. 1 Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to swoon; as, faint with fatigue, hunger, or thirst. 2 Wanting in courage, spirit, or energy; timorous; cowardly; dejected; depressed. 3 Lacking distinctness; hardly perceptible; striking the senses feebly; not bright, or loud, or sharp, or forcible; weak; as, a faint color, or sound. 4 Performed, done, or acted, in a weak or feeble manner; not exhibiting vigor, strength, or energy; slight; as, faint efforts; faint resistance. n. 1 The act of fainting. 2 (context rare English) The state of one who has fainted; a swoon. v

  2. 1 (context intransitive English) To lose consciousness. Caused by a lack of oxygen or nutrients to the brain, usually as a result of a suddenly reduced blood flow (may be caused by emotional trauma, loss of blood or various medical conditions). 2 To sink into dejection; to lose courage or spirit; to become depressed or despondent. 3 To decay; to disappear; to vanish.

WordNet
faint

n. a spontaneous loss of consciousness caused by insufficient blood to the brain [syn: swoon, syncope, deliquium]

faint

v. pass out from weakness, physical or emotional distress due to a loss of blood supply to the brain [syn: conk, swoon, pass out]

faint
  1. adj. barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc; "a faint outline"; "the wan sun cast faint shadows"; "the faint light of a distant candle"; "faint colors"; "a faint hissing sound"; "a faint aroma"

  2. lacking clarity or distinctness; "a dim figure in the distance"; "only a faint recollection"; "shadowy figures in the gloom"; "saw a vague outline of a building through the fog"; "a few wispy memories of childhood" [syn: dim, shadowy, vague, wispy]

  3. lacking strength or vigor; "damning with faint praise"; "faint resistance"; "feeble efforts"; "a feeble voice" [syn: feeble]

  4. weak and likely to lose consciousness; "suddenly felt faint from the pain"; "was sick and faint from hunger"; "felt light in the head"; "a swooning fit"; "light-headed with wine"; "light-headed from lack of sleep" [syn: light, swooning, light-headed, lightheaded]

  5. indistinctly understood or felt or perceived; "a faint clue to the origin of the mystery"; "haven't the faintest idea"

  6. lacking conviction or boldness or courage; "faint heart ne'er won fair lady" [syn: fainthearted, timid]

Wikipedia
Faint

Faint may refer to:

  • Syncope (medicine), a medical term for fainting
  • Lightheadedness, in the sense of "feeling faint"
  • Faint (song), a song by Linkin Park
  • Feint, a maneuver designed to distract or mislead
  • Feint (song), a song by Epica
  • The Faint, a dance-punk/rock band.
Faint (song)

"Faint" is a song by the American rock band Linkin Park from their second studio album Meteora. The song was released as the album's second single on June 9, 2003 and entered the top thirty on the majority of the charts it appeared on, including the Hot 100, in which it peaked at #48. The song reached #1 on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks, becoming the band's third number-one hit on the chart. The song would later be featured on the group's mashup EP with Jay-Z, Collision Course, where it was mashed up with lyrics of the song Jigga What from Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life. American metalcore band I, the Breather recorded a cover of "Faint."The record is also used by WWE wrestler Paige as her entrance theme.

Usage examples of "faint".

But your far song, my faint one, what are they, And what their dance and faery thoughts and ours, Or night abloom with splendid stars and pale?

It bore both the rich aroma of leaves being burnt in the fall and the faint perfume of wildflowers ablow in the spring, but it also held a third attar which seemed to be the breath of the Wind itself which none could ever set name to.

The scene I cannot describe--I should faint if I tried it, for there is madness in a room full of classified charnel things, with blood and lesser human debris almost ankle-deep on the slimy floor, and with hideous reptilian abnormalities sprouting, bubbling, and baking over a winking bluish-green spectre of dim flame in a far corner of black shadows.

The baying was very faint now, and it ceased altogether as I approached the ancient grave I had once violated, and frightened away an abnormally large horde of bats which had been hovering curiously around it.

Initially, she appeared to have some bruising beneath one eye and faint scratches and abrasions on one knee.

Venice edition of the Councils contains all the acts of the synods, and history of Photius: they are abridged, with a faint tinge of prejudice or prudence, by Dupin and Fleury.

The cuts and bruises I had received from the jagged sides of the rock shaft were paining me woefully, their soreness enhanced to a stinging or burning acuteness by some pungent quality in the faint draft, and the mere act of rolling over was enough to set my whole frame throbbing with untold agony.

Besides, not the faintest proof can be adduced of any such perceptible correspondence subsisting between them.

He strokes the soft curling hair once more before lifting the adz, then grins as he realizes his fingers have left a faint black shadow on the kid.

He kept the aerator as low as possible, to make himself breathe great gasps that hurt his chest, but it made him dizzy, and he had to increase the oxygenation lest he faint.

Mercedes had fallen half fainting, when released from the warm and affectionate embrace of old Dantes.

For an instant Alec thought he saw a faint expression of pain across his features.

This time the glowing drops vanished as they touched Alec, leaving a faint tingling sensation in their wake.

The dark opening to the treasure chamber exhaled the faint perfume of ambergris, frankincense, and sandalwood.

Carlo was out cold, in the ambient just barely, in that very faint way you could pick up someone sound asleep, at very close range.