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.
But the joy that little monkey feels for his orangutan, which he uses as shield, surrogate and playmate, is both heartbreaking and heartwarming.
From Los Angeles Times
The love you feel for your dog may be as deep as the ocean, as high as the sky.
He started out slowly, getting a feel for the overloaded quad.
From Literature
“You have to feel for that guy,” the second medic said.
From Literature
Pep Guardiola says he wants to use his position to "speak up to be a better society" as he talked at a football news conference about the "hurt" he feels for victims of global conflict.
From BBC
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.
