feeling

1 of 2

noun

feel·​ing ˈfē-liŋ 

1

a(1)

: the one of the basic physical senses of which the skin contains the chief end organs and of which the sensations of touch and temperature are characteristic : touch

(2)

: a sensation experienced through this sense

b

: generalized bodily consciousness or sensation

c

: appreciative or responsive awareness or recognition

experience a feeling of safety

2

a

: an emotional state or reaction

a kindly feeling toward the boy

b

feelings plural : susceptibility to impression : sensitivity

the remark hurt her feelings

3

a

: the undifferentiated background of one's awareness considered apart from any identifiable sensation, perception, or thought

b

: the overall quality of one's awareness

c

: conscious recognition : sense

4

a

: often unreasoned opinion or belief : sentiment

What are your feelings about this subject?

b

: presentiment

I have a feeling she's not going to like this.

5

: capacity to respond emotionally especially with the higher emotions

found out how much feeling his mother really had

6

: the character ascribed to something : atmosphere

The place had the feeling of a haunted house.

7

a

: the quality of a work of art that conveys the emotion of the artist

the feeling of the outdoors has been realized with sky-blue ceiling and natural colors

—Playthings

b

: sympathetic aesthetic response

a person of fine feeling

8

: feel sense 4

feeling

2 of 2

adjective

1

a

: sentient, sensitive

b

: easily moved emotionally

2

obsolete : deeply felt

3

: expressing emotion or sensitivity

feelingly

ˈfē-liŋ-lē 

adverb

feelingness noun

Synonyms

Noun

• chord
• emotion
• passion
• sentiment

Choose the Right Synonym for feeling

feeling, emotion, affection, sentiment, passion mean a subjective response to a person, thing, or situation.

feeling denotes any partly mental, partly physical response marked by pleasure, pain, attraction, or repulsion; it may suggest the mere existence of a response but imply nothing about the nature or intensity of it.

the feelings that once moved me are gone

emotion carries a strong implication of excitement or agitation but, like feeling, encompasses both positive and negative responses.

the drama portrays the emotions of adolescence

affection applies to feelings that are also inclinations or likings.

a memoir of childhood filled with affection for her family

sentiment often implies an emotion inspired by an idea.

her feminist sentiments are well known

passion suggests a very powerful or controlling emotion.

revenge became his ruling passion

Examples of feeling in a Sentence

Noun

I noticed tingling feelings in my fingers.

She had a queasy feeling in her stomach.

I had the feeling of something crawling across my foot.

We enjoyed the feeling of walking barefoot in the sand.

He had no feeling in his right leg.

He's been troubled by feelings of guilt.

There's no point in trying to hide your feelings.

He spoke with feeling about the injustice he had seen.

Have you no feeling for the plight of the homeless?

I can see that you have strong feelings about this subject.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

When shame or fear surfaces, instead of pushing the feeling away, taking a practical approach, writing down the specific thought that is being experienced, and challenging it with evidence is key. —Alejandra Rojas, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025

But sweeping his new team, and ending it with the bat in his hands, at least gives the downtrodden Angels a feeling that there might finally be something coming after him. —Sam Blum, New York Times, 19 May 2025

The feeling of using the pointed end of the tool to scratch my itchy scalp is unmatched. —Tatayana Yomary, Essence, 19 May 2025

That morning, Elissa couldn’t avoid a gnawing feeling in her gut because the MRI results hadn’t posted to her patient portal. —Kristen Jordan Shamus, USA Today, 19 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing feeling

• a feeling of
• feeling sorry for myself
• feeling the squeeze
• fellow feeling
• good feeling
• ill feeling/feelings
• know the feeling
• self-feeling
• sense/feeling of loss
• sinking feeling
• warm feeling
• with feeling

Rhymes for feeling

• ceiling
• dealing
• healing
• heeling
• keeling
• kneeling
• pealing
• peeling
• reeling
• sealing
• squealing
• stealing

Kids Definition

feeling

1 of 2 noun

feel·​ing ˈfē-liŋ 

1

a

: a sense by which the hardness or softness, hotness or coldness, or heaviness or lightness of things is found out

especially : touch entry 2 sense 3

b

: a sensation experienced through this sense

2

a

: a state of mind

a feeling of loneliness

b

plural : general emotional condition : sensibilities

hurt their feelings

3

: an opinion or belief often when not based on evidence

a feeling that it will rain

4

: sympathy sense 3

5

: feel sense 4

feeling

2 of 2 adjective

: sensitive sense 2

feelingly

ˈfē-liŋ-lē 

adverb

feelingness noun

Medical Definition

feeling

noun

feel·​ing ˈfē-liŋ 

1

a

: the capacity or ability to experience physical sensations (such as pain, touch, or temperature) that is mediated chiefly by end organs and sensory receptors in the skin

b

: a sensation experienced through this capacity

2

: an emotional state or reaction

guilt feelings

3

: the overall quality of one's awareness especially as measured along a pleasantness-unpleasantness continuum