Definitions for: Faint


[n] a spontaneous loss of consciousness caused by insufficient blood to the brain
[adj] lacking conviction or boldness or courage; "faint heart ne'er won fair lady"
[adj] 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"
[adj] indistinctly understood or felt or perceived; "a faint clue to the origin of the mystery"; "haven't the faintest idea"
[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"
[adj] lacking strength or vigor; "damning with faint praise"; "faint resistance"; "feeble efforts"; "a feeble voice"
[adj] 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"
[v] pass out from weakness, physical or emotional distress due to a loss of blood supply to the brain



Webster (1913) Definition: 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, 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, 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, v. t.
To cause to faint or become dispirited; to depress; to
weaken. [Obs.]

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

Synonyms: conk, coward(a), cowardly, dim, fainthearted, fearful, feeble, ill, indistinct, light, lightheaded, light-headed, pass out, perceptible, shadowy, sick, swoon, swoon, swooning, syncope, timid, vague, weak, wispy

See Also: black out, loss of consciousness, zonk out

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