fellow feeling

noun

: a feeling of community of interest or of mutual understanding

Examples of fellow feeling in a Sentence

There's a sense of sympathy and fellow feeling among members of the group.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Iran, by far the world’s largest Shiite-majority country, encouraged these groups—mostly Shiite minorities—by scouting them, nurturing the most promising, and building trust and fellow feeling. Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025 Can such fellow feeling reach beyond our immediate surroundings to encompass suffering among more distant people, who neither look, nor live, like us? Ned Temko, Christian Science Monitor, 17 July 2025 Scientific cooperation is an essential form of diplomacy, generating open-mindedness, patience, and fellow feeling. L. Rafael Reif, Foreign Affairs, 13 Sep. 2023 What has been much more difficult to discern is the squad’s morale, its fellow feeling, its unity. Rory Smith, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2023 Conversion to Islam broke even the nominal fellow feeling that should have been engendered by a mutual Christian identity across white and black communities. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 8 Apr. 2013

Word History

First Known Use

1621, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fellow feeling was in 1621

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Cite this Entry

“Fellow feeling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fellow%20feeling. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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