Meanings
- not comparableBeing a pretense, simulation, or counterfeit, or something false or fraudulent.
"I have passed my word," said Jowl with feigned reluctance, "and I'll keep it. When does this match come off? I wish it was over. -- To-night?"
1841, Charles Dickens, chapter 9, in The Old Curiosity Shop, archived from the original on 11 Aug 20142 more examples
I have discovered that a feigned familiarity in great ones is a note of certain usurpation on the less. For great and popular men feign themselves to be servants to others to make those slaves to them. So the fisher provides bait for the trout, roach, dace, &c., that they may be food to him.
1641 (posth.), Ben Jonson. Discoveries Made upon Men and Matters, "Mores aulici"And yet another marvel, the nether side of the canopy over the high seats was encrusted with lapis lazuli, and in that feigned dome of heaven burned the twelve signs of the zodiac, every star a diamond that shone with its own light.
1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 3
- participlepastsimple past and past participle of feign
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivenot genuine
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Ancient Greek πλαστός
- πλαστός (plastós)being a pretence, false
Bulgarian престорен, неискрен
- престорен (prestoren)being a pretence, false
- неискрен (neiskren)being a pretence, false
Danish forstilt, foregiven
- forstiltbeing a pretence, false
- foregivenbeing a pretence, false
- påtagetbeing a pretence, false
Esperanto afekta, afektita
- afektabeing a pretence, false
- afektitabeing a pretence, false
Latin fictus
- fictusbeing a pretence, false
Māori whakakiko, whakakikokiko
- whakakikobeing a pretence, false
- whakakikokikobeing a pretence, false
Norwegian Bokmål påtatt, uekte
- påtattbeing a pretence, false
- uektebeing a pretence, false
- falskbeing a pretence, false
Turkish sahte, yapmacık
- sahtebeing a pretence, false
- yapmacıkbeing a pretence, false
Ukrainian уда́ваний
- уда́ваний (udávanyj)being a pretence, false
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with feigned
Anagrams
Cite this entry
feigned. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feigned
“feigned.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feigned. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “feigned,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feigned.
Source: feigned on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.