malinger
Fake being ill
To malinger is to fake or exaggerate illness or injury to avoid work or duty.
The word carries strong disapproval—malingerers aren't simply sick; they're shirking: The sergeant suspected Private Jenkins was malingering to avoid the march.
Common in military and workplace contexts where feigned disability might excuse someone from unwanted obligations.
Pretend to have
- fakeNot the real thing
- shamFraudulent imitation
- pretendAct as though
- dissimulateConceal true motives
playact · counterfeit · fabricate · put-on · act · bluff · exaggerate · posture
Feigning effort to avoid labor
- loafingPassing time idly
- slackingAvoiding effort deliberately
- dodgingAvoiding by moving aside
- skivingEvading work or duty
truancy · avoidance · laziness · idleness · neglect · dereliction · absenteeism · procrastination
feign
Pretend to have
dissimulate · playact · counterfeit · fabricate · put-on · act · bluff · exaggerate · posture · masquerade
goldbricking
Feigning effort to avoid labor
skiving · truancy · avoidance · laziness · idleness · neglect · dereliction · absenteeism · procrastination · indolence
deceive
Cause false belief
con · hoodwink · bamboozle · trickery · subterfuge · charlatan · impostor · phony · fraud · quack
malingersoldier on
Continue despite difficulty
pull one's weight · work · labor · labour · toil