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 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
Lloyd says a feel for the different types of ice in skiing also helps her understand the grip of the racing track.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
“We are actors because we feel for them, but we have to be at their speed.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
You develop a feel for probability that you can’t get from doing equations.
From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026
It means having to stand in front of the guilt that I’ve stuffed down, the guilt I feel for not spending more time with Grandma when she was alive.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
