feeling
/ˈfiːlɪŋ
/noun
1An emotional state or reaction: a feeling of joy...
- While he denies he has a chip on his shoulder, this gut class feeling is a strong motivation behind his desire for success.
- And if you fell in love with me so long ago it only makes this feeling stronger, right?
- The strong feeling of love and the longing to commit is perfectly conveyed in marriage.
Synonyms
love, care, affection, fondness, tenderness, warmth, warmness, emotion, sentiment;
passion, ardour, desire, lust, infatuation;
adulation, adoration, reverence, devotion
compassion, sympathy, empathy, fellow feeling, understanding, care, concern, solicitude, solicitousness, tender-heartedness, tenderness, love, brotherly love;
pity, sorrow, commiseration, condolences
1.1 (feelings) The emotional side of someone’s character; emotional responses or tendencies to respond: I don’t want to hurt her feelings...
- He still frightens me a little, because I know nothing about him, yet my feelings have only grown stronger.
- Those feelings had only grown stronger since he'd come to the university.
- You've changed a lot since then, and my feelings have only grown stronger.
Synonyms
sensibilities, sensitivities, self-esteem, ego, pride;
emotions, passions, sentiments
1.2 [mass noun] Strong emotion: ‘God bless you!’ she said with feeling...
- It all feels so lacking in genuine feeling, genuine emotion, genuine interest.
- He was going back to the place where there was no feeling, because emotion and love were not allowed.
- Silence, when used appropriately and in context, will add emotion and feeling to the video.
2An idea or belief, especially a vague or irrational one: [with clause]: he had the feeling that he was being watched...
- I have a vague feeling that these different kinds and genres of rants will keep coming and going as this post progresses.
- The enterprise seems foolhardy, and Stewart does not justify it beyond a vague feeling that he wants adventure.
- I had a vague feeling that we were kind of heading in that direction in our relationship, but I had expected him to say it first.
Synonyms
suspicion, sneaking suspicion, notion, inkling, hunch, fancy, apprehension, presentiment, premonition, foreboding;
idea, vague idea, impression
informal gut feeling, feeling in one's bones, funny feeling, sixth sense
2.1An attitude or opinion: a feeling grew that justice had not been done if you have strong feelings about the proposal, you should contact the Office at once...
- He saw more clearly than any of these other guys how strong that feeling was.
- There's a strong general feeling among our members that consumers are not receptive to milk from cloned cows.
- I didn't have a real strong feeling about anything until I started playing music.
Synonyms
sentiment, emotion, emotional state;
opinion, attitude, belief;
ideas, views
opinion, belief, view, impression, intuition, instinct, hunch, estimation, guess, theory, hypothesis, thought, way of thinking, point of view
3 [mass noun] The capacity to experience the sense of touch: a loss of feeling in the hands...
- Jack wasn't sure if he was going blind, or just crazy, but he lost all feeling, all sense.
- For a prosthetic heel to be successful it would need to be covered in skin which has feeling and sensation.
- The disease leaves her with pain, loss of feeling and a burning sensation in her hands meaning she cannot drive for any length of time.
3.1The sensation of touching or being touched by a particular thing: the feeling of the water against your skin...
- Remember how it feels on deck because you want the same feeling in the water.
- The cold feeling of slowly moving water slid over her, until there was only darkness.
- A young child paddles in the sea for the first time, fascinated by the pleasant feeling of the water.
Synonyms
touch, feel, sense of touch, tactile sense, tactility, contact, using one's hands
4 (feeling for) A sensitivity to or intuitive understanding of: she says I have a feeling for medicine...
- I think it's permissible, after working on your favourite virus for over 20 years, to develop some sort of feeling for it.
- The singer has an even, rounded tone, an apposite feeling for ornament and an ability to phrase with sprightly elegance.
Synonyms
aptitude, knack, flair, bent, talent, gift, skill, art, trick, faculty, ability, propensity, inclination;
head, mind, brain
informal know-how
adjective
Showing emotion or sensitivity: she was a feeling child
Synonyms
sensitive, warm, warm-hearted, tender, tender-hearted, caring, soft-hearted, sympathetic, compassionate, understanding, empathetic, responsive, receptive, intuitive, thoughtful;
emotional, demonstrative, passionate, fiery
archaic sensible
Phrases
one's better feelings
Derivatives
feelingless
- The rugby playing feelingless bloke is now the outsider.
- He was royal, commanding, feelingless, fearless.
- Brandon answered but he sounded so feelingless, so monotone.