Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To perceive through the sense of touch: feel the velvety smoothness of a peach.
- v. To perceive as a physical sensation: feel a sharp pain; feel the cold.
- v. To touch.
- v. To examine by touching. See Synonyms at touch.
- v. To test or explore with caution: feel one's way in a new job.
- v. To undergo the experience of: felt my interest rising; felt great joy.
- v. To be aware of; sense: felt the anger of the crowd.
- v. To be emotionally affected by: She still feels the loss of her dog.
- v. To be persuaded of (something) on the basis of intuition, emotion, or other indefinite grounds: I feel that what the informant says may well be true.
- v. To believe; think: She felt his answer to be evasive.
- v. To experience sensations of touch.
- v. To produce a particular sensation, especially through the sense of touch: The sheets felt smooth.
- v. To produce a particular impression; appear to be; seem: It feels good to be home. See Usage Note at well2.
- v. To be conscious of a specified kind or quality of physical, mental, or emotional state: felt warm and content; feels strongly about the election.
- v. To seek or explore something by the sense of touch: felt for the light switch in the dark.
- v. To have compassion or sympathy: I feel for him in his troubles.
- n. Perception by or as if by touch; sensation: a feel of autumn in the air.
- n. The sense of touch: a surface that is rough to the feel.
- n. An act or instance of touching or feeling.
- n. Vulgar An act or instance of sexual touching or fondling.
- n. The nature or quality of something as perceived by or as if by the sense of touch: "power steering that seems overassisted, eliminating road feel” ( Mark Ginsburg).
- n. Overall impression or effect; atmosphere: "gives such disparate pictures . . . a crazily convincing documentary feel” ( Stephen King).
- n. Intuitive awareness or natural ability: has a feel for decorating.
- feel out To try cautiously or indirectly to ascertain the viewpoint or nature of.
- feel up Vulgar To touch or fondle (someone) sexually.
- idiom. feel in (one's) bones To have an intuition of.
- idiom. feel like Informal To have an inclination or desire for: felt like going for a walk.
- idiom. feel like (oneself) To sense oneself as being in one's normal state of health or spirits: I just don't feel like myself today.
- idiom. feel (one's) oats To be energetic and playful.
- idiom. feel (one's) oats To act in a self-important manner.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To have a sensation or sense-perception of. Specifically To have a sensation or sense-perception of by means of the sense of touch, or through physical contact with the surface of the body.
- To be or become aware of through material action upon any nerves of sensation other than those of sight, hearing, taste, and smell; have a sensation (other than those of the above-mentioned senses) of: as, to feel the cold; to feel a lump in the throat (through involuntary closure); to feel an inclination to cough. [The application of the word to the normal action of the higher senses is obsolete, except in the abstract meaning of perceiving by means of sensation in general: as, the higher animals feel light, heat, sound, etc. See def. 2.]
- To perceive by the sense of smell; smell.
- To have a perception of (some external or internal condition of things) through a more or less complex mental state involving vague sensation: as, to feel the floor sinking; to feel one's mind becoming confused; to feel the approach of age.
- In general, to perceive or have a mental sense of; be conscious of; have a distinct or indistinct perception or mental impression of: as, to feel pleasure or pain; to feel the beauty of a landscape.
- To regard with feeling or emotion; be aroused to feeling (especially disagreeable feeling) by: as, he felt his disgrace keenly.
- Reflexively, to have a sensation, feeling, perception, or impression concerning; perceive clearly to be.
- To try by touch; examine by touching with the hands or otherwise; test by contact: as, to feel a piece of cloth; to feel the ground with the feet; a blind man feels his way with a stick.
- Hence To make trial of in any way; test carefully or cautiously: as, to feel one's way in an undertaking; to feel the market by a small venture.
- To have experience of; suffer under: as, to feel the vengeance of an enemy.
- Synonyms Feel, Be sensible of, Be conscious of, are all used of a recognition that comes close home, a frank confession to one's self. Often, to feel is especially the act of the heart: as, to feel one's own defects. To be conscious may be only the act of the understanding, apart even from reflection: as, to be conscious of the approach of danger; or it may rise to a high degree of frank admission: as, to be conscious of failure. To be sensible is the act of a sort of inward sensuous perception. See sentiment.
- To have perception by means of the sense of touch or by physical contact; experience sensation of any kind, except that received through sight, hearing, taste, or smell; loosely, to have a sensation of any kind: as, to feel sore or ill; to feel cold.
- To have perception, especially vague perception or impression; have a mental sense of something.
- To recognize or regard one's self as; be consciously: as, to feel hurried; to feel called on to do something.
- To experience feeling or emotion; be aroused to emotion.
- To give or produce sensation or feeling; especially, to produce sensation of touch, or organic sensations.
- To make examination by the sense of touch; grope.
- To be inwardly moved: followed by an infinitive: as, I feel to sympathize with him.
- To sympathize with; be sorry for.
- n. The sense or a sensation of touch.
- n. A sensation of any kind, or a vague mental impression or feeling.
- n. That quality in an object by which it appeals to the sense of touch.
- Much; many.
- Much.
Wiktionary
- pro. alternative form of fele.
- adj. alternative form of fele.
- adv. alternative form of fele.
- v. To become aware of through the skin; to use the sense of touch.
- v. To experience an emotion or other mental state about.
- v. To find one's way (literally or figuratively) by touching or using cautious movements.
- v. To be or become aware of.
- v. To experience the consequences of.
- v. To think, believe, or have an impression concerning.
- v. To receive information by touch or by any neurons other than those responsible for sight, smell, taste, or hearing.
- v. To search by sense of touch.
- v. To experience and emotion or other mental state.
- v. To seem.
- v. To sympathise.
- v. To understand.
- n. A quality of an object experienced by touch.
- n. A vague mental impression.
- n. An act of fondling.
- n. A vague understanding
- n. An intuitive ability
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To perceive by the touch; to take cognizance of by means of the nerves of sensation distributed all over the body, especially by those of the skin; to have sensation excited by contact of (a thing) with the body or limbs.
- v. To touch; to handle; to examine by touching; ; hence, to make trial of; to test; often with
out . - v. To perceive by the mind; to have a sense of; to experience; to be affected by; to be sensible of, or sensitive to
- v. To take internal cognizance of; to be conscious of; to have an inward persuasion of.
- v. To perceive; to observe.
- v. To have perception by the touch, or by contact of anything with the nerves of sensation, especially those upon the surface of the body.
- v. To have the sensibilities moved or affected.
- v. To be conscious of an inward impression, state of mind, persuasion, physical condition, etc.; to perceive one's self to be; -- followed by an adjective describing the state, etc..
- v. To know with feeling; to be conscious; hence, to know certainly or without misgiving.
- v. To appear to the touch; to give a perception; to produce an impression by the nerves of sensation; -- followed by an adjective describing the kind of sensation.
- n. Feeling; perception.
- n. A sensation communicated by touching; impression made upon one who touches or handles.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people
- v. examine by touch
- v. examine (a body part) by palpation
- v. come to believe on the basis of emotion, intuitions, or indefinite grounds
- v. grope or feel in search of something
- v. pass one's hands over the sexual organs of
- v. be felt or perceived in a certain way
- v. produce a certain impression
- n. a property perceived by touch
- v. be conscious of a physical, mental, or emotional state
- n. manual stimulation of the genital area for sexual pleasure
- v. have a feeling or perception about oneself in reaction to someone's behavior or attitude
- v. find by testing or cautious exploration
- v. undergo passive experience of:
- v. perceive by a physical sensation, e.g., coming from the skin or muscles
- v. undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
- n. an intuitive awareness
Etymologies
- Middle English felen, from Old English fēlan; see pāl- in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“As a doctor, with his finger against a pulse, is able to feel the heart rate, when I am up there speaking, I can _feel_ the reaction to what I am saying.”
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
“Sisters in Christ I feel an interest in _you_, and often has the secret prayer arisen on your behalf, Lord "open thou their eyes that they may see wondrous things out of thy Law" -- It is then, because I _do feel_ and _do pray_ for you, that”
“And while we believe that such efforts are praiseworthy for the reason that many persons must be first convinced in that way, still we feel that one must really _feel_ the truth of the doctrine from something within his own consciousness, before he will really _believe_ it to be truth.”
“I feel thankful for your praise of my conduct; all is going on well, but it would be needless to attempt to deny that I _feel_ the _change_, and”
“You will love the charm and rustic feel of this 2 family town house style with a single family \ "feel\". on almost 2 acres of land. 3 outbuildings including Large horse barn and sheds.”
“I'm sorry you feel shitty, and I'm sure that the warmth of strangers is no help at all, but as a reader I * feel* like I know you, and consequently care about you.”
“(as you wish to be chained), chain you, rivet you -- do you feel how the little fine chain twists round and round you? do you hear the stroke of the riveting? and you may _feel that_ too.”
The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Barrett, Vol. 1 (of 2) 1845-1846
“i have shared the most of me that i can find even in the dark with you you the only light for far too long you hold the only fire of anything that makes me feel feel . again that love is real you ..”
“That's _just_ it!" he cried, in quick anger, "I _would_ 'feel at home' with that old name, but I don't want to '_feel at home_.”
“Now I feel it all -- _how_ I _feel_ it -- since I heard Mr Clare that day.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘feel’.
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gists
words about central ideas and actions
gist, nub, sense, meat, core, essence, heart, crux, pith, marrow, kernel, quintessence and 35 more...
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[Open] Stative Verbs
Definition Many of these can also be dynamic.
Please just list bare infinitives to keep the list wieldy. Perhaps a tag (e.g., “stative”) would be sufficient for participles.)act, amaze, appear, appreciate, astonish, become, believe, belong, cost, feel, get, hate and 53 more...

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