feeling

feel·ing (f

ng)

a. The sensation involving perception by touch.

b. A sensation experienced through touch.

c. A physical sensation: a feeling of warmth.

2. An affective state of consciousness, such as that resulting from emotions, sentiments, or desires: experienced a feeling of excitement.

3. An awareness or impression: He had the feeling that he was being followed.

a. An emotional state or disposition; an emotion: expressed deep feeling.

b. A tender emotion; a fondness.

a. Capacity to experience the higher emotions; sensitivity; sensibility: a man of feeling.

b. feelings Susceptibility to emotional response; sensibilities: The child's feelings are easily hurt.

6. Opinion based more on emotion than on reason; sentiment.

7. A general impression conveyed by a person, place, or thing: The stuffy air gave one the feeling of being in a tomb.

a. Appreciative regard or understanding: a feeling for propriety.

b. Intuitive awareness or aptitude; a feel: has a feeling for language.

adj.

1. Having the ability to react or feel emotionally; sentient; sensitive.

2. Easily moved emotionally; sympathetic: a feeling heart.

3. Expressive of sensibility or emotion: a feeling glance.

feeling·ly adv.

Synonyms: feeling, emotion, passion, sentiment
These nouns refer to complex and usually strong subjective human response. Although feeling and emotion are sometimes interchangeable, feeling is the more general and neutral: "Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity" (William Wordsworth).
Emotion often implies the presence of excitement or agitation: "Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion" (T.S. Eliot).
Passion is intense, compelling emotion: "They seemed like ungoverned children inflamed with the fiercest passions of men" (Francis Parkman).
Sentiment often applies to a thought or opinion arising from or influenced by emotion: We expressed our sentiments about the government's policies.
The word can also refer to delicate, sensitive, or higher or more refined feelings: "The mystic reverence, the religious allegiance, which are essential to a true monarchy, are imaginative sentiments that no legislature can manufacture in any people" (Walter Bagehot). See Also Synonyms at opinion.

feeling

Noun

1. an emotional reaction: a feeling of discontent

2. feelings emotional sensitivity: I don't want to hurt your feelings

3. instinctive appreciation and understanding: your feeling for language

4. an intuitive understanding that cannot be explained: I began to have a sinking feeling that I was not going to get rid of her

5. opinion or view: it was his feeling that the report was a misinterpretation of what had been said

6. capacity for sympathy or affection: moved by feeling for his fellow citizens

a. the ability to experience physical sensations: he has no feeling in his left arm

b. the sensation so experienced

8. the impression or mood created by something: a feeling of excitement in the air

9. bad feeling resentment or anger between people, for example after an argument or an injustice: his refusal may have triggered bad feeling between the two men

feelingly adv

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun	1.	feeling - 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" state - the way something is with respect to its main attributes; "the current state of knowledge"; "his state of health"; "in a weak financial state" affect - the conscious subjective aspect of feeling or emotion emotion - any strong feeling thing - a persistent illogical feeling of desire or aversion; "he has a thing about seafood"; "she has a thing about him" glow - a feeling of considerable warmth; "the glow of new love"; "a glow of regret" faintness - a feeling of faintness and of being ready to swoon soulfulness, soul - deep feeling or emotion passion, passionateness - a strong feeling or emotion sentiment - tender, romantic, or nostalgic feeling or emotion complex - (psychoanalysis) a combination of emotions and impulses that have been rejected from awareness but still influence a person's behavior ambivalence, ambivalency - mixed feelings or emotions apathy - an absence of emotion or enthusiasm desire - the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state sexual urge, sex - all of the feelings resulting from the urge to gratify sexual impulses; "he wanted a better sex life"; "the film contained no sex or violence" pleasure, pleasance - a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience; "he was tingling with pleasure" painfulness, pain - emotional distress; a fundamental feeling that people try to avoid; "the pain of loneliness" pang, stab, twinge - a sudden sharp feeling; "pangs of regret"; "she felt a stab of excitement"; "twinges of conscience" liking - a feeling of pleasure and enjoyment; "I've always had a liking for reading"; "she developed a liking for gin" dislike - a feeling of aversion or antipathy; "my dislike of him was instinctive" gratitude - a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation; "he was overwhelmed with gratitude for their help" ingratitude, ungratefulness - a lack of gratitude unconcern - a feeling of lack of concern shame - a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt pride, pridefulness - a feeling of self-respect and personal worth humbleness, humility - a humble feeling; "he was filled with humility at the sight of the Pope" amazement, astonishment - the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising; "he looked at me in astonishment" devastation - the feeling of being confounded or overwhelmed; "her departure left him in utter devastation" expectation - the feeling that something is about to happen levity - feeling an inappropriate lack of seriousness solemnity, gravity - a solemn and dignified feeling sensitiveness, sensitivity - sensitivity to emotional feelings (of self and others) agitation - the feeling of being agitated; not calm calmness - a feeling of calm; an absence of agitation or excitement fearlessness, bravery - feeling no fear happiness - emotions experienced when in a state of well-being sadness, unhappiness - emotions experienced when not in a state of well-being hope - the general feeling that some desire will be fulfilled; "in spite of his troubles he never gave up hope" despair - the feeling that everything is wrong and nothing will turn out well; "they moaned in despair and dismay"; "one harsh word would send her into the depths of despair" affection, affectionateness, philia, warmness, warmheartedness, fondness, tenderness, heart - a positive feeling of liking; "he had trouble expressing the affection he felt"; "the child won everyone's heart"; "the warmness of his welcome made us feel right at home" humour, mood, temper, humor - a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling; "whether he praised or cursed me depended on his temper at the time"; "he was in a bad humor" fellow feeling, sympathy - sharing the feelings of others (especially feelings of sorrow or anguish)
	2.	feeling - 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" impression, notion, belief, opinion idea, thought - the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about; "it was not a good idea"; "the thought never entered my mind" presence - the impression that something is present; "he felt the presence of an evil force" effect - an impression (especially one that is artificial or contrived); "he just did it for effect" first blush - at the first glimpse or impression; "at first blush the idea possesses considerable intuitive appeal but on closer examination it fails" hunch, suspicion, intuition - an impression that something might be the case; "he had an intuition that something had gone wrong"
	3.	feeling - 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" flavor, flavour, feel, spirit, smell, look, tone ambiance, ambience, atmosphere - a particular environment or surrounding influence; "there was an atmosphere of excitement" Hollywood - a flashy vulgar tone or atmosphere believed to be characteristic of the American film industry; "some people in publishing think of theirs as a glamorous medium so they copy the glitter of Hollywood" Zeitgeist - the spirit of the time; the spirit characteristic of an age or generation
	4.	feeling - 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" somaesthesia, somatesthesia, somatic sensation, somesthesia - the perception of tactual or proprioceptive or gut sensations; "he relied on somesthesia to warn him of pressure changes" tightness, constriction - a tight feeling in some part of the body; "he felt a constriction in her chest"; "she felt an alarming tightness in her chest"; "emotion caused a constriction of his throat"
	5.	feeling - the sensation produced by pressure receptors in the skin; "she likes the touch of silk on her skin"; "the surface had a greasy feeling" tactile sensation, tactual sensation, touch sensation, touch perception - the process of perceiving creepiness - an uneasy sensation as of insects creeping on your skin cutaneous sensation, haptic sensation, skin sensation - a sensation localized on the skin
	6.	feeling - an intuitive understanding of something; "he had a great feeling for music" intuitive feeling intuition - instinctive knowing (without the use of rational processes) sprachgefuhl - an intuitive feeling for the natural idiom of a language; "Dubyuh has no sprachgefuhl"