feel for
Idioms-
Grope, reach for with one's hands, as in It was pitch dark, and I felt for the doorknob . [Early 1700s]
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feel for someone . Sympathize with or feel sorry for someone, as in Tom was so upset that I felt for him . This usage was put as feel with by Shakespeare: “It resounds as if it felt with Scotland” ( Macbeth , 4:3). Both senses of feel for are present in the somewhat sarcastic I feel for you but I can't quite reach you , meaning “Too bad, but I don't really feel sorry for you.”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She said they had noticed they were getting a feel for which faces were real or AI just by looking at them.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
“She can be sort of mean, and we don’t like her in the beginning. As the series grows, you really feel for her. That’s so hard to pull off, and she does it in spades.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
“I just have a natural feel for what people want,” Parton said in an interview.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
You develop a feel for probability that you can’t get from doing equations.
From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026
Tonight, he thought, and put his hand out to feel for rain.
From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
