feel out
phrasal verb
felt out; feeling out; feels out
: to talk to or question (someone) in an indirect way in order to find out if something one wants to do or get will be possible
He tried to feel us out to see if we'd loan him more money.
Examples of feel out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Pinterest shared some destinations that feel out of this world.
—
Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 1 May 2024
Lily feels out of her depth but is too dazzled by glimpses of Matthew’s luxe life to turn away immediately.
—Heller McAlpin, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Apr. 2024
Some scientists hypothesize that feeling out of sync with peers during adolescence can contribute to feelings of loneliness and depression.
—Alexa Lee, STAT, 7 Mar. 2024
But a stint in Hollywood never felt out of reach for the Bronx native, who has detailed being drawn to the art form of film.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2024
Raised in the Presbyterian Church and trained as a minister there, Tome counts himself among those who grew to feel out of place in the church of his childhood.
—Dan Horn, The Enquirer, 20 Mar. 2024
Try out different scents for each season, too; something that wears like a wool sweater in winter will feel out of place in summer; use that as an excuse to get something aquatic or green in the warmer months.
—Adam Hurly, Robb Report, 5 Mar. 2024
And somewhere in the second half, the legs just felt out from under me.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2024
When tasked with repairing a piece of furniture, my lack of handyman skills left me feeling out of my depth.
—Jonathan Fischbein, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024
Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 1 May 2024
Lily feels out of her depth but is too dazzled by glimpses of Matthew’s luxe life to turn away immediately.
—Heller McAlpin, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Apr. 2024
Some scientists hypothesize that feeling out of sync with peers during adolescence can contribute to feelings of loneliness and depression.
—Alexa Lee, STAT, 7 Mar. 2024
But a stint in Hollywood never felt out of reach for the Bronx native, who has detailed being drawn to the art form of film.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2024
Raised in the Presbyterian Church and trained as a minister there, Tome counts himself among those who grew to feel out of place in the church of his childhood.
—Dan Horn, The Enquirer, 20 Mar. 2024
Try out different scents for each season, too; something that wears like a wool sweater in winter will feel out of place in summer; use that as an excuse to get something aquatic or green in the warmer months.
—Adam Hurly, Robb Report, 5 Mar. 2024
And somewhere in the second half, the legs just felt out from under me.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2024
When tasked with repairing a piece of furniture, my lack of handyman skills left me feeling out of my depth.
—Jonathan Fischbein, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'feel out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Feel out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feel%20out. Accessed 7 May. 2024.
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