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[feel] /fil/
verb (used with object), felt, feeling.
to perceive or examine by touch.
to have a sensation of (something), other than by sight, hearing, taste, or smell:
to feel a toothache.
to find or pursue (one's way) by touching, groping, or cautious moves.
to be or become conscious of.
to be emotionally affected by:
to feel one's disgrace keenly.
to experience the effects of:
The whole region felt the storm.
to have a particular sensation or impression of (often used reflexively and usually followed by an adjunct or complement):
to feel oneself slighted.
to have a general or thorough conviction of; think; believe:
I feel he's guilty.
verb (used without object), felt, feeling.
to have perception by touch or by any nerves of sensation other than those of sight, hearing, taste, and smell.
to make examination by touch; grope.
to perceive a state of mind or a condition of body:
to feel happy; to feel well.
to have a sensation of being:
to feel warm.
to make itself perceived or apparent; seem:
How does it feel to be rich?
a quality of an object that is perceived by feeling or touching:
the soft feel of cotton.
a sensation of something felt; a vague mental impression or feeling:
a feel of winter; a feel of sadness in the air.
the sense of touch:
soft to the feel.
native ability or acquired sensitivity:
to have a feel for what is right.
Informal. an act or instance of touching with the hand or fingers.
Slang: Vulgar. an act or instance of feeling up.
feels, Informal. strong, often positive feelings: That song gives me feels.
I have so many feels right now.
Verb phrases
feel for,
  1. to feel sympathy for or compassion toward; empathize with:
    I know you're disappointed and upset, and I feel for you.
  2. Southeastern Pennsylvania and Maryland. to have a liking or desire for:
    If you feel for more pie, just help yourself.
feel out, to attempt to ascertain (the nature of a situation, someone's attitude, etc.) by indirect or subtle means:
Why not feel out the other neighbors' opinions before you make a complaint.
feel up, Slang: Vulgar. to fondle or touch (someone) in a sexual manner.
feel up to, Informal. to feel or be able to; be capable of:
He didn't feel up to going to the theater so soon after his recent illness.
cop a feel, Slang: Vulgar. to touch another person's body sexually, often in a quick and surreptitious way.
feel like, Informal.
  1. to have a desire for; be favorably disposed to:
    I don't feel like going out tonight. Do you feel like a movie?
  2. to think; have the opinion (often used to soften the tone of discourse):
    I feel like this is the only solution in this case.
  3. to have a particular impression; believe (used to express emotional sentiments):
    I feel like she doesn't love me anymore.
feel like oneself, to be in one's usual frame of mind or state of health:
She hasn't been feeling like herself since the accident.
Also, feel oneself.
feel no pain. pain (def 5).
Origin of feel
before 900; Middle English felen, Old English fēlan; cognate with Old Saxon fōlian, German fühlen; akin to Old Norse falma to grope. See fumble
Related forms
overfeel, verb, overfelt, overfeeling.
refeel, verb, refelt, refeeling. Unabridged
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Examples from the Web for feel
Contemporary Examples
Historical Examples

    Little Dorrit Charles Dickens
  • He never ceased to feel cheated when he was obliged to ride in New York.

    The Spenders Harry Leon Wilson

    Alice Adams Booth Tarkington
  • I'll feel safe enough about my money as long as you keep your health.

    The Spenders Harry Leon Wilson
  • He does not feel like saying "Viva" to or of the girl who has so misjudged his boy.

    A War-Time Wooing Charles King
British Dictionary definitions for feel


verb feels, feeling, felt (fɛlt)
to perceive (something) by touching
to have a physical or emotional sensation of (something): to feel heat, to feel anger
(transitive) to examine (something) by touch
(transitive) to find (one's way) by testing or cautious exploration
(copula) to seem or appear in respect of the sensation given: I feel tired, it feels warm
to have an indistinct, esp emotional conviction; sense (esp in the phrase feel in one's bones)
(intransitive) foll by for. to show sympathy or compassion (towards): I feel for you in your sorrow
to believe, think, or be of the opinion (that): he feels he must resign
(slang) (transitive) often foll by up. to pass one's hands over the sexual organs of
feel like, to have an inclination (for something or doing something): I don't feel like going to the pictures
feel oneself, feel quite oneself, to be fit and sure of oneself
(usually used with a negative or in a question) feel up to, to be fit enough for (something or doing something): I don't feel up to going out tonight
the act or an instance of feeling, esp by touching
the quality of or an impression from something perceived through feeling: the house has a homely feel about it
the sense of touch: the fabric is rough to the feel
an instinctive aptitude; knack: she's got a feel for this sort of work
Word Origin
Old English fēlan; related to Old High German fuolen, Old Norse fālma to grope, Latin palmapalm1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for feel

Old English felan "to touch, perceive," from Proto-Germanic *foljan (cf. Old Saxon gifolian, Old Frisian fela, Dutch voelen, Old High German vuolen, German fühlen "to feel," Old Norse falma "to grope"), from PIE root *pal- "to touch, feel, shake, strike softly" (cf. Greek psallein "to pluck (the harp)," Latin palpare "to touch softly, stroke," palpitare "to move quickly"), perhaps ultimately imitative.




Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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feel in Medicine

feel (fēl)
v. felt (fělt), feel·ing, feels

  1. To perceive through the sense of touch.

  2. To perceive as a physical sensation, as of pain.

  3. To be conscious of a particular physical, mental, or emotional state.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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Slang definitions & phrases for feel


v,v phr

To touch, caress, or handle the buttocks, breasts, legs, crotch, etc; cop a feel (1930+)

Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
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feel in Technology

(Free and Eventually Eulisp) An initial implementation of an EuLisp interpreter by Pete Broadbery Version 0.75 features an integrated object system, modules, parallelism, interfaces to PVM library, TCP/IP sockets, futures, Linda and CSP. Portable to most Unix systems. Can use shared memory and threads if available.
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Idioms and Phrases with feel
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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