FAINTINGLY

Etymology

Adverb

faintingly (comparative more faintingly, superlative most faintingly)

While fainting; so as to faint.

Newly rescued from the desert, she faintingly asked for water.

Source: Wiktionary


FAINTING

Faint"ing, n.

Definition: Syncope, or loss of consciousness owing to a sudden arrest of the blood supply to the brain, the face becoming pallid, the respiration feeble, and the heat's beat weak. Fainting fit, a fainting or swoon; syncope. [Colloq.]

FAINT

Faint, a. [Compar. Fainter (-r); superl. Faintest.] Etym: [OE. faint, feint, false, faint, F. feint, p.p. of feindre to feign, suppose, hesitate. See Faign, 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.

Definition: 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.

Definition: To cause to faint or become dispirited; to depress; to weaken. [Obs.] It faints me to think what follows. Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 January 2025

LEFT

(adjective) being or located on or directed toward the side of the body to the west when facing north; “my left hand”; “left center field”; “the left bank of a river is bank on your left side when you are facing downstream”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the largest coffee shop is the Al Masaa Café, which has 1,050 seats. The coffee shop was inaugurated in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 13 August 2014.

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