feint
noun
definition 1: a movement or thrust in a misleading direction, or a slight attack at a misleading point, to draw one’s opponent away from the real target, as in sports or military combat.
definition 2: a pretense or false appearance of doing something, intended to mislead or divert attention.
example: She made a feint of looking at her watch to avoid appearing interested in the unfolding scene.
Examples from Books
Peter was a superb swordsman, and parried with dazzling rapidity; ever and anon he followed up a feint with a lunge that got past his foe’s defense….
(J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan, 1911)
He began to talk very sociably with Augustus, and we could now see that the greater part of his apparent intoxication, while the two others were with him, was a feint.
(E.A. Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, 1838)
Language Note
“Feint” is often misspelled as its homophone “faint.” It may be helpful to remember that “feint” is closely related in origin and meaning to the word “feign,” meaning “to pretend,” as in, “She regularly feigned illness to get out of gym class.” If we dig any deeper into the etymology of “feint” and “faint,” however, we find that, ultimately, both words derive from the same French word, “feindre,” a verb with multiple meanings, including “to pretend,” “imitate,” “show weakness,” and “shirk” (D. Harper, etymonline.com).