To feign illness isn't merely nothing (3)
I believe the answer is:
nil
'nothing' is the definition.
(eg nil is zero in football)
'to feign illness isn't merely' is the wordplay.
'NIL' is hidden in amongst the letters.
But, I'm uncertain how the hidden word is indicated.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for nil that I've seen before include "Nothing, zero" , "Lacking value" , "Nothing - in Latin" , "Nix, nada, nothing" , "0" .)