Meaning & use
feel
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Meanings
verblinking
To be aware of an emotion, a physical state or a condition in yourself.
Grammar: Followed by an adjective, not an adverb: feel happy, feel tired, not feel happily.
Patterns
- feel + adjective
- feel like something
I feel tired after the long flight.
She felt nervous before the interview.
Do you feel better today?
verbtransitive
To notice a sensation through your body, especially by touch.
Grammar: Takes an object: feel the heat, feel a tap on the shoulder. Often used with can.
Patterns
- feel something
- feel something + verb
He felt a drop of rain on his cheek.
I can feel the floor shaking.
She felt the cold air as soon as she opened the door.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To touch something with your fingers in order to learn about it or find it.
Grammar: With an object (feel the fabric) or with for: feel for the light switch.
Patterns
- feel something
- feel for something
The nurse felt his wrist to check his pulse.
He felt for the light switch in the dark.
Feel this cloth and tell me what it is made of.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To have an opinion or belief about something.
Grammar: Often followed by that or about: I feel that we should wait.
Patterns
- feel that something
- feel about something
I feel that the plan needs more time.
How do you feel about moving to a new city?
Many residents feel strongly about the new road.
verblinking
To seem to the touch or to the mind to have a certain quality.
Grammar: The subject is the thing described: the water feels cold.
Patterns
- feel + adjective
- feel like something
The blanket feels soft.
The room felt colder than usual.
It feels like autumn already.
Word forms
| third person singular | feels |
|---|---|
| past tense | felt |
| past participle | felt |
| -ing form | feeling |
Common combinations
- feel free to
- Feel free to ask questions at any time.
- feel like doing something
- I don't feel like going out tonight.
- feel sorry for
- I feel sorry for the player who missed the penalty.
- feel at home
- The hosts made us feel at home.
- feel the pressure
- The team started to feel the pressure in the final minutes.
- feel strongly about
- She feels strongly about protecting local parks.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sense
- Sense suggests becoming aware of something without clear evidence, while feel is usually the direct physical or emotional experience.
- experience
- Experience is more formal and covers any event you go through, not only physical or emotional sensations.
- touch
- Touch means putting your hand on something, but feel can mean sensing it without any deliberate action.
- believe
- Believe expresses a firm opinion, whereas feel for opinions is softer and more personal.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: feel or fill? feel or felt?
feel vs fill
Fill means to make full and has a different vowel and meaning from feel, although they sound close in fast speech.
feel vs felt
Felt is the past tense of feel and also a soft cloth made from pressed wool, so context shows which is meant.
Practice
Which sentence is correct?
Choose one answer.
Feel is a linking verb here and takes an adjective, so feel happy is right. Happily is an adverb, and the other options are ungrammatical.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “feel”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.