a property perceived by touch
"The velvet cushion felt incredibly soft against my cheek."
manual stimulation of the genital area for sexual pleasure
"the girls hated it when he tried to sneak a feel"
A quality of an object experienced by touch.
"The velvet pillow has a surprisingly soft feel compared to the rough wool blanket."
In plain English: A feel is a vague sense or impression you get about something without having all the facts.
"She checked her pulse to see if she could still feel life in her hand."
Usage: Use feel as a noun to describe the specific texture or tactile quality of an object that you experience through touch. Do not use it to refer to emotions or sensations unless explicitly describing a physical surface characteristic.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
"She felt resentful"
"He felt regret"
be conscious of a physical, mental, or emotional state
"My cold is gone--I feel fine today"
"She felt tired after the long hike"
"She felt sad after her loss"
have a feeling or perception about oneself in reaction to someone's behavior or attitude
"She felt small and insignificant"
"You make me feel naked"
"I made the students feel different about themselves"
undergo passive experience of
"We felt the effects of inflation"
"her fingers felt their way through the string quartet"
"she felt his contempt of her"
To use or experience the sense of touch.
"She reached out to feel the rough texture of the old wooden table."
To become aware of through the skin; to use the sense of touch on.
"The baby reached out to feel the soft texture of his mother's sweater against her cheek."
In plain English: To feel means to experience something physically or emotionally, like sensing a touch or having an emotion.
Usage: Use "feel" to describe the physical sensation of touching something or having your body touched by it. You might say you feel cold water on your skin or feel someone's hand holding yours.
Alternative form of fele
In plain English: When something feels right, it seems perfect or just how you want it to be.
"The soup feels warm in my hands."
Usage: The word "feel" is a verb and should not be used as an adjective in standard English. If you need an adjective describing a sensation or emotion, use words like "feeling," "felt," or specific descriptors such as "tactile" instead.
Alternative form of fele
"The old manuscript is written in archaic dialects where scribes often spelled the word feel as fele."
In plain English: To feel means to have a strong emotion or opinion about something.
"She felt her way through the dark room until she found the light switch."
Usage: Do not use "feel" as an adverb; it is an archaic variant of "fele" and has no place in modern English. Instead, modify verbs with standard adverbs like "really," "quite," or "rather" to convey the intended meaning clearly.
Alternative form of fele
"The old manuscript uses the spelling 'fele' for feel, but modern editors often correct it to reflect the standard form."
The word feel comes from the Old English fēlan, which originally meant to perceive by touch or sense. It traveled into modern English through Middle English without a significant change in its core meaning of physical sensation.