I. feel ‧ ing 1 S1 W1 /ˈfiːlɪŋ/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ feel , ↑ feeling , feelings; verb : ↑ feel ; adjective : ↑ unfeeling ]
1 . ANGER/SADNESS/JOY ETC [countable] an emotion that you feel, such as anger, sadness, or happiness:
Knowing we'd won was a wonderful feeling.
feeling of
a terrible feeling of guilt
2 . WAY SOMEBODY THINKS/FEELS feelings [plural] someone’s feelings are their thoughts, emotions, and attitudes:
He’s considerate of other people’s feelings.
3 . OPINION [countable] a belief or opinion about something, especially one that is influenced by your emotions:
My personal feeling is that not enough has been done.
feeling on
She has strong feelings on the issue of abortion.
feeling about
a survey on people’s feelings about the candidates
His gut feeling (=opinion based on emotion) was that Burns was probably guilty.
I had this funny feeling (=not easily explained) that something was wrong.
4 . have/get the feeling (that) to think that something is probably true, or will probably happen
have/get the feeling (that) (that)
Leslie suddenly got the feeling that somebody was watching her.
He had a sneaking feeling (=a slight feeling that something is true, without being sure) that they were laughing at him.
Gary had a sinking feeling (=had a sudden bad feeling that something was true) that he was making a mistake.
have/get the feeling (that) about
I have a good feeling about this. I think it’s going to work.
5 . GENERAL ATTITUDE [uncountable] a general attitude among a group of people about a subject:
the anti-American feeling in the region
feeling against/in favour of
Johnson underestimated the strength of public feeling against the war.
the depth of feeling against nuclear weapons
6 . HEAT/COLD/PAIN ETC [countable] something that you feel in your body, such as heat, cold, tiredness etc:
I keep getting this funny feeling (=a strange feeling) in my neck.
feeling of
feelings of dizziness
7 . ABILITY TO FEEL [uncountable] the ability to feel pain, heat etc in part of your body:
Harry had lost all feeling in his toes.
8 . EFFECT OF A PLACE/BOOK ETC [singular] the effect that a place, book, film etc has on people and the way it makes them feel
feeling of
the town’s strong feeling of history
It gives a feeling of eating outdoors, without having to worry about being rained on.
9 . I know the feeling spoken said when you understand how someone feels because you have had the same experience:
‘It’s so embarrassing when you can’t remember someone’s name.’ ‘I know the feeling.’
10 . the feeling is mutual spoken said when you have the same feeling about someone as they have towards you:
My dad hated my boyfriend, and the feeling was mutual.
11 . bad/ill feeling anger, lack of trust etc between people, especially after an argument or unfair decision:
The changes have caused a lot of ill feeling among the workforce.
12 . with feeling in a way that shows you feel very angry, happy etc:
Chang spoke with great feeling about the injustices of the regime.
13 . a feeling for something
a) an ability to do something or understand a subject, which you get from experience:
an orchestra that has always shown a special feeling for Brahms’ music
b) a natural ability to do something SYN talent :
He has a natural feeling for mathematical ideas.
14 . EMOTIONS NOT THOUGHT [uncountable] a way of reacting to things using your emotions, instead of thinking about them carefully:
The Romantic writers valued feeling above all else.
⇨ no hard feelings at ↑ hard 1 (19), ⇨ hurt sb’s feelings at ↑ hurt 1 (4)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meanings 1 & 2)
■ adjectives
▪ a good/great/wonderful etc feeling
It's a great feeling when you try something new and it works.
▪ deep
A deep feeling of sadness came over her.
▪ strong/intense
There was a strong feeling of anger among the workers.
■ verbs
▪ experience a feeling
I remember experiencing a feeling of tremendous excitement.
▪ give somebody a feeling
My work gives me a feeling of achievement.
▪ arouse a feeling (=cause it)
The music aroused a feeling of calm within him.
▪ hurt somebody's feelings (=make someone feel upset)
I hope I didn't hurt your feelings.
▪ hide your feelings
She could no longer hide her feelings.
▪ show your feelings
I know you find it embarrassing to show your feelings.
▪ express your feelings ( also put your feelings into words ) (=tell other people what you are feeling or thinking)
Children sometimes find it difficult to put their feelings into words.
■ phrases
▪ have mixed feelings (=have both positive and negative feelings)
Her parents had mixed feelings about the marriage.
▪ feelings are running high (=people have strong feelings, especially of anger)
It was the last game of the season, and feelings were running high.
II. feeling 2 BrE AmE adjective
showing strong feelings:
a feeling look
—feelingly adverb