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• feel-bad
  feel-bad

  adjective

  intended to make one feel unhappy, depressed, or dissatisfied, often to arouse one’s conscience or understanding.
• feel bad
  feel bad

  Also, feel bad about. Experience regret, sadness, embarrassment, or a similar unpleasant emotion. For example, I feel bad about not attending the funeral, or The teacher's scolding made Bobby feel bad. [First half of 1800s]

feel-bad

American  

[feel-bad] / ˈfilˈbæd /

adjective

Informal.

1. intended to make one feel unhappy, depressed, or dissatisfied, often to arouse one’s conscience or understanding.

   a feel-bad documentary about Nagasaki;

   feel-bad financial reports.

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feel bad Idioms  

1. Also, feel bad about. Experience regret, sadness, embarrassment, or a similar unpleasant emotion. For example, I feel bad about not attending the funeral, or The teacher's scolding made Bobby feel bad. [First half of 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of feel-bad

First recorded in 1980–85; feel ( def. ) + bad ¹ ( def. ) on the model of feel-good ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

feel-bad feel bad

I'm sure that has contributed to the general atmosphere of doom and gloom that seems to define this feel-bad era.

From Salon ● Apr. 12, 2024

In the end, “Moving On” emerges as a feel-good movie by way of some feel-bad events, mainly that heinous slice of history between Claire and Howard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2023

Devoid of explanatory text and almost wordless, this feel-bad documentary takes a soberly immersive approach, with the cinematographer Magda Kowalczyk often using a hand-held camera to approximate a bovine point of view.

From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2022

Let’s not mince words: The Tomorrow War is the feel-bad movie of the year.

From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2021

They are the feel-bad hits of the summer.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 19, 2019

The point of the test is not to make us feel bad about our financial knowledge, but to help improve our financial outcomes.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

Their English father, Paul, said: "I'd support England, but I'd feel bad."

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

"I feel bad for the players because they shouldn't be really playing in that kind of atmosphere," said the 70-year-old former tennis coach.

From Barron's ● Jun. 14, 2026

So it was a little surprising that one of the speakers at TPUSA’s Women’s Leadership Summit in San Antonio, Texas, Alex Clark, spoke about how Kirk made her feel bad about herself.

From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026

Truth was, even with Rooster Jim’s help, I was swamped under with chores, but I didn’t want Perilee to feel bad.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson