malinger

[Bailey]

ma·lin·ger(m-lnggr)
intr.v. ma·lin·gered, ma·lin·ger·ing, ma·lin·gers
To feign illness or other incapacity in order to avoid duty or work.



[From French malingre, sickly.]


ma·linger·er n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

mark malingering Bailey

[Perry]

Sherlock Holmes once very effectively malingered in order to fool an enemy into complacence.