To pretend or make a false show of something; to fake an emotion, illness, or action.
From Old French 'feindre,' from Latin 'fingere' meaning to shape, form, or devise. The sense shifted from 'to create' to 'to create a false impression' during the medieval period.
When you feign emotions, your face usually betrays you—research shows genuine and fake smiles engage completely different muscles, which is why poker players and spies are trained to detect exactly this difference!
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