Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - feel

(feels, feeling, felt) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. If you feel a particular emotion or physical sensation, you experience it. I am feeling very depressed... I will always feel grateful to that little guy... I remember feeling sick... Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder... You won’t feel a thing... I felt as if all my strength had gone... I felt like I was being kicked in the teeth every day. V-LINK: V adj, V adj, V adj, V n, V n, V as if, V like 2. If you talk about how an experience or event feels, you talk about the emotions and sensations connected with it. It feels good to have finished a piece of work... The speed at which everything moved felt strange... Within five minutes of arriving back from holiday, it feels as if I’ve never been away... It felt like I’d had two babies instead of one... V-LINK: no cont, it V adj to-inf/that, V adj, it V as if, it V like 3. If you talk about how an object feels, you talk about the physical quality that you notice when you touch or hold it. For example, if something feels soft, you notice that it is soft when you touch it. The metal felt smooth and cold... The ten-foot oars felt heavy and awkward... When the clay feels like putty, it is ready to use. V-LINK: no cont, V adj, V adj, V like n • Feel is also a noun. He remembered the feel of her skin... Linen raincoats have a crisp, papery feel. N-SING: usu with supp 4. If you talk about how the weather feels, you describe the weather, especially the temperature or whether or not you think it is going to rain or snow. It felt wintry cold that day. V-LINK: no cont, it V adj, also it V like/as if 5. If you feel an object, you touch it deliberately with your hand, so that you learn what it is like, for example what shape it is or whether it is rough or smooth. The doctor felt his head... When dry, feel the surface and it will no longer be smooth... Feel how soft the skin is in the small of the back... Her eyes squeezed shut, she felt inside the tin, expecting it to be bare. VERB: V n, V n, V wh, V prep/adv 6. If you can feel something, you are aware of it because it is touching you. Through several layers of clothes I could feel his muscles... He felt her leg against his. VERB: no cont, V n, V n prep/adv 7. If you feel something happening, you become aware of it because of the effect it has on your body. She felt something being pressed into her hands... He felt something move beside him... She felt herself lifted from her feet... Tremors were felt 250 miles away. VERB: V n -ing, V n inf, V pron-refl -ed, be V-ed 8. If you feel yourself doing something or being in a particular state, you are aware that something is happening to you which you are unable to control. I felt myself blush... If at any point you feel yourself becoming tense, make a conscious effort to relax... I actually felt my heart quicken. VERB: V pron-refl inf, V pron-refl -ing, V n inf, also V n -ing 9. If you feel the presence of someone or something, you become aware of them, even though you cannot see or hear them. He felt her eyes on him... Suddenly, I felt a presence behind me... I could feel that a man was watching me very intensely... He almost felt her wincing at the other end of the telephone. = sense VERB: no cont, V n, V n, V that, V n -ing 10. If you feel that something is the case, you have a strong idea in your mind that it is the case. I feel that not enough is being done to protect the local animal life... I feel certain that it will all turn out well... She felt herself to be part of a large business empire... I never felt myself a real child of the sixties. VERB: no cont, V that, V adj that, V n to-inf, V pron-refl n 11. If you feel that you should do something, you think that you should do it. I feel I should resign... He felt that he had to do it... You need not feel obliged to contribute... They felt under no obligation to maintain their employees. VERB: no cont, V that, V that, V -ed to-inf, V under n 12. If you talk about how you feel about something, you talk about your opinion, attitude, or reaction to it. We’d like to know what you feel about abortion... She feels guilty about spending less time lately with her two kids... He feels deep regret about his friend’s death. VERB: no cont, V about n, V adj/adv about n, V n about n 13. If you feel like doing something or having something, you want to do it or have it because you are in the right mood for it and think you would enjoy it. Neither of them felt like going back to sleep... Could we take a walk? I feel like a little exercise. VERB: V like -ing/n, V like -ing/n 14. If you feel the effect or result of something, you experience it. The charity is still feeling the effects of revelations about its one-time president... The real impact will be felt in the developing world. VERB: V n, V n 15. The feel of something, for example a place, is the general impression that it gives you. The room has a warm, cosy feel. N-SING: with supp • If you get the feel of something, for example a place or a new activity, you become familiar with it. He wanted to get the feel of the place. PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n 16. feel free: see free see also feeling, felt