faint

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++faint1 /feɪnt/ ●●○ adjective  1  CLEAR/EASY TO SEESTRONG TASTE OR SMELLdifficult to see, hear, smell etc 不清楚的，模糊的 She gave a faint smile. 她淡淡一笑。 a very faint noise 很微弱的声响 the faint light of dawn 微弱的晨光► see thesaurus at quiet2  a faint hope/possibility/chance etc SMALLa very small or slight hope etc 微弱的希望/很小的可能性/些微的可能等 a faint hope that they might be alive 他们渺茫的生还希望3  not have the faintest idea NOT KNOWto not know anything at all about something 完全不知道 I don’t have the faintest idea what you’re talking about. 我一点都不知道你在说什么。4  WEAKfeeling weak and as if you are about to become unconscious because you are very ill, tired, or hungry 〔因生病、疲倦或饥饿而〕虚弱的 The heat made him feel quite faint. 高温令他感觉很虚弱。faint with I was faint with hunger. 我饿昏了。 —faintly adverb Everyone looked faintly surprised. 每个人都显得有点吃惊。 The sun shone faintly through the clouds. 微弱的阳光透过云层照射下来。 —faintness noun [uncountable] → damn somebody/something with faint praise at damn4(6)

Examples from the Corpus

faint• The men went away, and we could hear their voices get fainter and fainter.• For a moment she looked quite faint, but with a great effort she stood her ground.• Before she got there, however, there was a faint cracking from the surrounding darkness.• Then Freitag made a faint gesture to his partner, who put away his pen and notebook.• Immediately four faint, narrow lines appeared, bracketing a tiny and undistinguished star.• We heard a faint noise coming from the room.• I could just make out the faint outline of the cliffs.• On the wall you could see the faint outline of where a picture had once hung.• M56 is not at all prominent, but shows up as a faint patch of light.• There were a few faint pencil lines on the page.• He could not resist a faint smile creeping over his face.• There was silence for a moment as they held each other's eyes, broken only by the faint sound of dance music from down below.• Jean opened the window, and heard the faint sound of the bells drifting across the Old Town.• A second set of shadows appeared; at first long and faint, they shortened and sharpened rapidly.• Far down the inverted telescope he saw the faint white figure of May Welland-in New York.faint light• He knew he was quite safe, yet he felt increasingly tense as he ascended the steep path in the faint light.• In the distance I could see a faint light, and I decided to try to reach it.• A street lamp threw faint light and out of it came a young woman.• Standing all day on the wet clay floor under the dropping ceiling in the faint light cast by tallow candles was grim.• I inspected the room in the faint light coming in around the shutters.• A faint light now appears behind the beaded curtain of one of the houses that face the courtyard.• In the faint light of what is left of day, she can barely make out the road ahead.• A laser transmitted faint light signals to an electronic detector.feel ... faint• He was starting to feel faint.• One Saturday, in September 1995, my pulse races, I get dizzy, and feel faint.• She should not be embarrassed or alarmed if she feels faint.• She stopped using the drugs in January when she suddenly passed out and began feeling faint and weak.• She was already feeling faint, as much from the stale heat of the attic room as for any other reason.• I saw her often just lying down in the afternoons because she felt faint from hunger.• She felt faint when she thought how near she had come to disaster.• Resting there, in the protection of the mighty canopy, was an object which made him feel faint with fear.faint2 ●●○ verb [intransitive]  1  MI_UNCONSCIOUSto suddenly become unconscious for a short time 晕倒，昏厥 SYN pass out Several fans fainted in the blazing heat. 几个球迷在炽热高温下晕过去了。2  I nearly/almost fainted spokenSURPRISED used to say that you were very surprised by something 我差点昏过去〔表示很惊讶〕 I nearly fainted when they told me the price. 他们告诉我价格时，我差点昏过去。→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

faint• Just went around in my wrapper all the livelong day, my mama would faint.• I need to go outside. I feel as if I'm going to faint.• It was hot and crowded, and several people fainted.• Flatch replied, determined not to faint.• I must have fainted, and when I came to I didn't know where I was.• He wondered whether he might not faint away.• My grandmother continued to have fainting fits and hysterical fits.• Almost fainting from lack of air, she could only answer in choked gasps.• One of the soldiers guarding the palace fainted in the heat.• Hyperventilation and Anxiety Symptoms Symptoms of a panic attack initiated by adrenalin can never cause us to faint or be sick.• Hi, Robyn, Don't faint with shock, but I felt like writing you a letter!

Related topics: Illness & disability

faint3 noun [singular]  MIUNCONSCIOUSan act of becoming unconscious 昏厥in a (dead) faint She fell down in a faint. 她昏倒了。

Examples from the Corpus

faint• In the eighth round, she faced syncope, which means a faint or swoon.in a (dead) faint• When the chanting stops they fall back in a faint.• David collapsed to the carpet in a faint.• He whirled around at Leif's horrified cry and the bump as the maid fell in a dead faint to the floor.• She slipped forward out of the chair and hit the floor in a dead faint.• As she did so, the colourless lips moved in a faint moan.• Mostly black on black, its central diamond is traced in faint gold and barely visible.• So he made me pretend I was in a dead faint.Origin faint1 (1200-1300) Old French faindre, feindre “to pretend”; → FEIGN

faint1 adjectivefaint2 verbfaint3 nounChinese  

see, hear, difficult Corpus smell to etc

faint

I

faint¹ /feɪnt/ adjective1. difficult to see, hear, smell etc:
    She gave a faint smile.
    a very faint noise
    the faint light of dawn
2. a faint hope/possibility/chance etc a very small or slight hope etc:
    a faint hope that they might be alive
3. not have the faintest idea to not know anything at all about something:
    I don’t have the faintest idea what you’re talking about.
4. feeling weak and as if you are about to become unconscious because you are very ill, tired, or hungry:
    The heat made him feel quite faint.
    faint with
    I was faint with hunger.
—faintly adverb:
    Everyone looked faintly surprised.
    The sun shone faintly through the clouds.
—faintness noun [uncountable]
⇨ damn somebody/something with faint praise at damn⁴(6)
     

THESAURUS

■ a quiet sound or voice
   ▪ quiet not making a loud sound: I heard a quiet voice behind me. | a car with a quiet engine
   ▪ low quiet – especially because you do not want people to hear or be disturbed: Doug was on the phone, speaking in a low voice. | I turned the volume down low.
   ▪ soft quiet and pleasant to listen to: Soft music was playing in the background. | His voice was soft and gentle.
   ▪ silent not making any sound at all: a silent prayer | silent laughter | The machines were virtually silent.
   ▪ hushed deliberately quiet because you do not want people to hear – used about people’s voices: They were talking about money in hushed tones. | The doctor’s voice was hushed and urgent.
   ▪ faint quiet and difficult to hear because it comes from a long way away: The men went ahead and their voices got fainter and fainter. | the faint sound of bells
   ▪ muffled difficult to hear, for example because the sound comes from another room or someone’s mouth is covered by something: Muffled voices were coming from downstairs. | the muffled sound of someone crying
   ▪ dull [only before noun] a dull sound is not loud – used especially about the sound of something hitting another thing: He hit the ground with a dull thud.
   ▪ inaudible too quiet to hear: The sound is inaudible to the human ear. | Her answer came in an almost inaudible whisper.

II

faint² verb [intransitive]
1. to suddenly become unconscious for a short time
   SYN  pass out:
    Several fans fainted in the blazing heat.
2. I nearly/almost fainted spoken used to say that you were very surprised by something:
    I nearly fainted when they told me the price.

III

faint³ noun [singular]
an act of becoming unconscious
    in a (dead) faint
    She fell down in a faint.