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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

It’s a feel-good movie for a feel-bad era.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2022

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

From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2021

Which made it a bespoke fit for Lemonada Media, a podcast network founded in 2019 that creates feel-good stories about feel-bad issues.

From New York Times ● May 20, 2021

They are the feel-bad hits of the summer.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 19, 2019

“At least we’re open. I feel bad for the businesses that aren’t open, because it’s really an unfortunate thing that’s happened … It’s a real mess.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026

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

"I feel bad missing lessons all those days while pupils in other schools are still in class," she tells the BBC.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

“We don’t feel bad at all,” McAfee told me about the entire episode.

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

“Don’t feel bad for me. I like living on my own. Move on as the wind blows, eat when I want, garbage as far as the opossum can waddle. Life is good.”

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz