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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

Set amid the impressive vistas of the Canadian northwest, “Out of the Blue” is a boldly feel-bad film about punk rock, lunatic driving and deranged family values.

From New York Times ● Nov. 17, 2021

It’ll be a feel-bad delight for some horror diehards, but most viewers will be left more bored than haunted.

From Slate ● Feb. 7, 2020

The more feel-bad moments you have in a game, the less people want to play.”

From The Guardian ● Sep. 17, 2019

What makes me feel bad is that “the closest thing to a risk-free investment” isn’t as close as it used to be.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 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 have that thought all the time where everyone’s just being nice and following me because they feel bad for me,” he tells The Times.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

In a video recorded while he was in custody, the suspect issued a message to the victim's family, saying: "I feel bad for what happened to your daughter. It was out of my control."

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026

I know it’s wrong and I feel bad about lying.

From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman