Definition

1. Noun:
   • An emotional state or reaction: A conscious subjective experience of affect or emotion.
   • A physical sensation: An awareness or perception of a bodily state or external stimulus through the senses.
   • An intuitive awareness or sensitivity: An intuitive understanding or appreciation of something, often not based on conscious reasoning.
   • A general impression or atmosphere: The overall emotional quality or ambiance of a place, situation, or piece of art.
   • An opinion or belief: A vague or intuitive idea or conviction about something.

Examples of Usage

• Emotional State:
  • She spoke with a feeling of great joy.
  • He couldn't hide his feeling of disappointment.
• Physical Sensation:
  • I had a strange feeling in my stomach.
  • The feeling of the sun on her skin was warm.
• Intuitive Awareness:
  • She has a real feeling for language.
  • He has no feeling for classical music.
• General Impression:
  • The old house had a lonely feeling.
  • There was a feeling of tension in the room.
• Opinion or Belief:
  • My feeling is that we should wait.
  • What is your feeling about the new policy?

Advanced Usage

• "Bad/ill feeling": Resentment or animosity between people.
  • The dispute left a lot of bad feeling between the two departments.
• "No hard feelings": Used to express that one is not upset or resentful after a disagreement.
  • I hope there are no hard feelings about the decision.
• "A feeling for": A natural understanding or talent for something.
  • A good designer has a feeling for color and space.

Variants and Related Words

• Feel (verb): To experience an emotion or physical sensation.
• Feelings (plural noun): Often refers specifically to emotions, especially sensitive ones.
  • He hurt her feelings with his careless remark.
• Feelingly (adverb): In a way that shows strong emotion.
  • She spoke feelingly about her childhood.

Synonyms

• Emotion: A natural instinctive state of mind deriving from circumstances.
• Sensation: A physical feeling or perception from the senses.
• Impression: An idea, feeling, or opinion about something or someone.
• Sentiment: A view or attitude toward a situation; often refined feeling.

Related Phrases

• Mixed feelings: Having conflicting emotions about something.
  • I have mixed feelings about moving to a new city.
• Get the feeling: To begin to believe or suspect something intuitively.
  • I get the feeling that she isn't telling us everything.
• Hurt someone's feelings: To upset someone emotionally.
  • Be careful not to hurt his feelings.

Related Idioms

• Feeling is mutual: Used to say that one shares the same sentiment, often a negative one like dislike.
  • "I don't like him." — "The feeling is mutual."
• Sinking feeling: A sudden feeling of dread or apprehension.
  • I had a sinking feeling when I saw the police car outside my house.

Noun

1. an intuitive understanding of something
   • he had a great feeling for music
2. the sensation produced by pressure receptors in the skin
   • she likes the touch of silk on her skin
   • the surface had a greasy feeling
3. a physical sensation that you experience
   • he had a queasy feeling
   • I had a strange feeling in my leg
   • he lost all feeling in his arm
4. the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people
   • the feel of the city excited him
   • a clergyman improved the tone of the meeting
   • it had the smell of treason
5. a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
   • his impression of her was favorable
   • what are your feelings about the crisis?
   • it strengthened my belief in his sincerity
   • I had a feeling that she was lying
6. the experiencing of affective and emotional states
   • she had a feeling of euphoria
   • he had terrible feelings of guilt
   • I disliked him and the feeling was mutual