feeling Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the experiencing of affective and emotional states
    • she had a feeling of euphoria
    • he had terrible feelings of guilt
    • I disliked him and the feeling was mutual
  2. noun a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
    impression; belief; opinion; notion.
    • his impression of her was favorable
    • what are your feelings about the crisis?
    • it strengthened my belief in his sincerity
    • I had a feeling that she was lying
  3. noun the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people
    flavour; look; feel; tone; flavor; smell; spirit.
    • the feel of the city excited him
    • a clergyman improved the tone of the meeting
    • it had the smell of treason
  4. noun a physical sensation that you experience
    • he had a queasy feeling
    • I had a strange feeling in my leg
    • he lost all feeling in his arm
  5. noun the sensation produced by pressure receptors in the skin
    touch; tactual sensation; touch sensation; tactile sensation.
    • she likes the touch of silk on her skin
    • the surface had a greasy feeling
  6. noun an intuitive understanding of something
    intuitive feeling.
    • he had a great feeling for music
  7. verb undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
    feel; experience.
    • She felt resentful
    • He felt regret
  8. verb come to believe on the basis of emotion, intuitions, or indefinite grounds
    feel; find.
    • I feel that he doesn't like me
    • I find him to be obnoxious
    • I found the movie rather entertaining
  9. verb perceive by a physical sensation, e.g., coming from the skin or muscles
    feel; sense.
    • He felt the wind
    • She felt an object brushing her arm
    • He felt his flesh crawl
    • She felt the heat when she got out of the car
  10. verb be conscious of a physical, mental, or emotional state
    feel.
    • My cold is gone--I feel fine today
    • She felt tired after the long hike
    • She felt sad after her loss
  11. verb have a feeling or perception about oneself in reaction to someone's behavior or attitude
    feel.
    • She felt small and insignificant
    • You make me feel naked
    • I made the students feel different about themselves
  12. verb undergo passive experience of:"We felt the effects of inflation"
    feel.
    • her fingers felt their way through the string quartet
    • she felt his contempt of her
  13. verb be felt or perceived in a certain way
    feel.
    • The ground feels shaky
    • The sheets feel soft
  14. verb grope or feel in search of something
    feel.
    • He felt for his wallet
  15. verb examine by touch
    feel; finger.
    • Feel this soft cloth!
    • The customer fingered the sweater
  16. verb examine (a body part) by palpation
    palpate; feel.
    • The nurse palpated the patient's stomach
    • The runner felt her pulse
  17. verb find by testing or cautious exploration
    feel.
    • He felt his way around the dark room
  18. verb produce a certain impression
    feel.
    • It feels nice to be home again
  19. verb pass one's hands over the sexual organs of
    feel.
    • He felt the girl in the movie theater

WordNet

Feel"ing adjective
Definitions
  1. Possessing great sensibility; easily affected or moved; as, a feeling heart.
  2. Expressive of great sensibility; attended by, or evincing, sensibility; as, he made a feeling representation of his wrongs.
Feel"ing noun
Definitions
  1. The sense by which the mind, through certain nerves of the body, perceives external objects, or certain states of the body itself; that one of the five senses which resides in the general nerves of sensation distributed over the body, especially in its surface; the sense of touch; nervous sensibility to external objects.
    Why was the sight To such a tender ball as the eye confined, . . . And not, as feeling, through all parts diffused? Milton.
  2. An act or state of perception by the sense above described; an act of apprehending any object whatever; an act or state of apprehending the state of the soul itself; consciousness.
    The apprehension of the good Gives but the greater feeling to the worse. Shak.
  3. The capacity of the soul for emotional states; a high degree of susceptibility to emotions or states of the sensibility not dependent on the body; as, a man of feeling; a man destitute of feeling.
  4. Any state or condition of emotion; the exercise of the capacity for emotion; any mental state whatever; as, a right or a wrong feeling in the heart; our angry or kindly feelings; a feeling of pride or of humility.
    A fellow feeling makes one wondrous kind. Garrick.
    Tenderness for the feelings of others. Macaulay.
  5. That quality of a work of art which embodies the mental emotion of the artist, and is calculated to affect similarly the spectator. Fairholt. Syn. -- Sensation; emotion; passion; sentiment; agitation; opinion. See Emotion, Passion, Sentiment.

Webster 1913