faint — ODE · Shobdo

faint /feɪnt

▸ adjective

1 (of a sight, smell, or sound) barely perceptible:

the faint murmur of voices.

▪ (of a hope or chance) possible but unlikely; slight:

there is a faint chance that the enemy may flee.

▪ lacking conviction or enthusiasm; feeble:

she sent him a faint answering smile.

2 [predicative] feeling weak and dizzy and close to losing consciousness:

the heat made him feel faint.

▸ verb [no object] lose consciousness for a short time because of a temporarily insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain:

I fainted from loss of blood.

▪ archaic grow weak or feeble; decline:

the fires were fainting there.

▸ noun [in singular] a sudden loss of consciousness:

she hit the floor in a dead faint.

– PHRASES

not have the faintest informal
have no idea:

I haven't the faintest what it means.

– DERIVATIVES

faintness /ˈfeɪntnɪs

/ noun

– ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense ‘feigned’, also ‘feeble, cowardly’, surviving in faint heart): from Old French faint, past participle of faindre (see feign). Compare with feint1.