faint

FAINT, adjective [Latin vanus, whence to vanish. Eng. to wane.] 1. weak; languid; inclined to swoon; as, to be rendered faint by excessive evacuations. 2. Weak; feeble; languid; exhausted; as faint with fatigue, hunger or thirst. 3. Weak, as color; not bright or vivid; not strong; as a faint color; a faint red or blue; a faint light. 4. Feeble; weak, as sound; not loud; as a faint sound; a faint voice. 5. Imperfect; feeble; not striking; as a faint resemblance or image. 6. Cowardly; timorous. A faint heart never wins a fair lady. 7. Feeble; not vigorous; not active; as a faint resistance; a faint exertion. 8. Dejected; depressed; dispirited. My heart is faint Lamentations 1:13. FAINT, verb intransitive 1. To lose the animal functions; to lose strength and color, and become senseless and motionless; to swoon; sometimes with away. he fainted for loss of blood. On hearing the honor intended her, she fainted away. 2. To become feeble; to decline or fail in strength and vigor; to be weak. If I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way. Mark 8:3. 3. To sink into dejection; to lose courage or spirit. Let not your hearts faint Deuteronomy 20:3. If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. Proverbs 24:10. 4. To decay; to disappear; to vanish. Gilded clouds, while we gaze on them, faint before the eye. FAINT, verb transitive To deject; to depress; to weaken. [Unusual.]