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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

It causes people to feel bad when you peg a time to it.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 25, 2026

It’s almost heartbreaking that a whole room full of people had to hear him feel bad and keep being furious.

From Slate • Apr. 17, 2026

“These people are so stupid. I almost feel bad taking advantage of them,” one of them wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

“I feel bad for Tiger,” fellow golf great Jack Nicklaus told the Palm Beach Post.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

But Fly does not make me feel bad about my speed in comparison to his.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga