Definition of "faint"

faint¹

/feɪnt/

adjective
comparative fainter, superlative faintest
1. (of a being) Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to lose consciousness
2. Lacking courage, spirit, or energy; cowardly; dejected
  Quotations
  Faint heart ne'er won fair lady.
  1789, Robert Burns, to Dr. Blacklock
3. Barely perceptible; not bright, or loud, or sharp
4. Performed, done, or acted, weakly; not exhibiting vigor, strength, or energy
5. Slight; minimal.
  Quotations
  do you have the faintest understanding of what they mean?
  2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 243b
6. (archaic) Sickly, so as to make a person feel faint.
  Quotations
  Happening to pass a fruiterer’s on their way; the door of which was open, though the shop was by this time shut; one of them remarked how faint the peaches smelled.
  1843, Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit
noun
plural faints
1. The act of fainting, syncope.
2. (rare) The state of one who has fainted; a swoon.

faint²

/feɪnt/

verb
third-person singular simple present faints, present participle fainting, simple past and past participle fainted
1. (intransitive) To lose consciousness through a lack of oxygen or nutrients to the brain, usually as a result of suddenly reduced blood flow (may be caused by emotional trauma, loss of blood or various medical conditions).
  Quotations
  If I send them away fasting […] they will faint by the way.
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Mark 8:8
  But upon hearing the Honour which he intended her , she fainted away , and fell down as Dead at his Feet
  September 22 1713, Richard Steele, The Guardian No. 167
2. (intransitive) To lose courage or spirit; to become depressed or despondent.
  Quotations
  If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Proverbs 24:10
3. (intransitive) To decay; to disappear; to vanish.
  Quotations
  Gilded clouds, while we gaze upon them, faint before the eye.
  November 12, 1711, Alexander Pope, letter to Henry Cromwell