Is it ok to say "this number feigns in comparison to" [closed]

Solution 1:

Pales in comparison, I suspect.

To pale in comparison is to look weak, small, meagre, or inferior compared to something else. Pale here takes the little-used sense to become smaller. It's the same pale used in the common phrase (less common in the U.S.) pale into insignificance, whose meaning is obvious. (says Grammarist.com)

http://grammarist.com/spelling/pale-in-comparison/

Solution 2:

You are probably thinking of "...fades in comparison to..." which is a less common variant of the idiom "...pales in comparison to..." and carries the same meaning. It is used more often in British English than in American, but is still a less popular alternative to 'pales'.

'Fades' is similar in sound to 'feigns' so it seems more likely to be the intended word than the more dissimilar 'pales'.

Solution 3:

This is likely a confusion between feign and faint.

This number is faint in comparison to that one.

The meaning is the same as to pale in comparison. To be pale or faint is to be indistinct against a background or to be nearly transparent: a metaphor for being insignificant.

Solution 4:

Feign is a synonym for "fake" or "pretend", and like those words, it usually requires an object. You would never say that you are feigning without specifying what it is that you are pretending. For example:

• I really wanted to buy the car, but I feigned indifference to get the salesman to lower the price.
• My opponent was expecting a left jab, so I feigned an uppercut to distract him.