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The Shape of the History of Feign
Of the many ways Ferris Bueller feigns illness—that is, pretends to be sick—to avoid going to school in the 1986 comedy film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, arguably the most ingenious involves tucking a mannequin version of himself under the blankets of his bed to fool his family. This method of deception provides not only entertaining hijinks but also clues to the origins of the word feign itself. Today, feign is all about faking it, but it hasn’t always been so. One of the word’s oldest meanings is “to fashion, form, or shape,” which echoes that of its Latin source, the verb fingere, meaning “to mold, fashion, make a likeness of, or pretend to be.” It’s one thing to fashion a likeness of oneself as an art project, and another to try and convince your family it’s really you in order to play hooky; it’s this element of deceit that infused other early meanings of feign including “to lie,” “to counterfeit,” and “to forge a document.” Today, people mostly use feign to suggest the act of forming, or giving shape to, false appearances—not of personas (such as, say, that of the Sausage King of Chicago), but rather conditions or feelings, such as happiness, sleep, or outrage.
Examples of feign in a Sentence
Douglas Coupland, Generation X, 1991
Success keeps her busy. "Relaxation?" she asks, feigning puzzlement. "What's that?"
—Jennifer Johnston, New Woman, November 1990
… Brad would sometimes clown or feign clumsiness just to crack her composed expression with a blush or a disapproving frown.
—John Updike, Trust Me, 1987
I would never feign illness just to get out of a test.
Hannah Sacks, People.com, 13 Apr. 2025
Putin is not feigning peace to stay on Trump’s good side merely to gobble up more Ukrainian territory.
—Chicago Tribune, 11 Apr. 2025
Approximately half of late-night TV was off this week, which means Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert, and Taylor Tomlinson were all spared from having to feign shock and dismay over the vandalism of Teslas.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2025
Even Cynthia clocks Drew’s pattern of getting caught in lies—and feigning confusion when confronted.
—Shelby Stewart, Essence, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for feign
Cite this Entry
“Feign.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feign. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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