faint

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.