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PlainSpell

feel

/ˈfiːl/verb, noun

feel is spelled F-E-E-L: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 468 times per million words in written English, the 203rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, feel means “To become aware of through the skin; to use the sense of touch on” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in feel?

Letters4: F-E-E-L
Syllables1
In writing468 times per million words; the 203rd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Sounds like
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is feel?

Feel appears 468 times per million words in written English, the 203rd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce feel?

  • /ˈfiːl/
  • [ˈfɪi̯l]

Feel has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-feel.wav, En-us-feel.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with feel

Sounds like: fil (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with feel?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as feel.

Spelled with the same letters in another order: flee, fele.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of feel

  • feels present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • feeling participle, present
  • felt participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does feel mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To become aware of through the skin; to use the sense of touch on.

    You can feel a heartbeat if you put your fingers on your breast.

  2. 2

    To find one's way (literally or figuratively) by touching or using cautious movements.

    I felt my way through the darkened room.

  3. 3

    To receive information by touch or by any neurons other than those responsible for sight, smell, taste, or hearing.

  4. 4

    To search by sense of touch.

    He felt (about) for the light switch in the dark.

  5. 5

    To experience an emotion or other mental state about.

    I can feel the sadness in his poems.

  6. 6

    To think, believe, or have an impression concerning.

    I feel that we need to try harder.

  7. 7

    To experience an emotion or other mental state.

    He obviously feels strongly about it.

  8. 8

    To sympathize; to have the sensibilities moved or affected.

    I feel for you and your plight.

noun

  1. 1

    archaicThe sense of touch.

  2. 2

    A perception experienced mainly or solely through the sense of touch.

    Bark has a rough feel.

  3. 3

    A vague mental impression.

    You should get a feel for the area before moving in.

  4. 4

    An act of fondling.

    She gave me a quick feel to show that she loves me.

  5. 5

    A vague understanding.

    I'm getting a feel for what you mean.

  6. 6

    An intuitive ability.

    She has a feel for music.

  7. 7

    USslangA feeling; an emotion.

    I know that feel.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Feel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchpalper, toucher (transitive: to sense by touch), sentir (transitive: to experience an emotion or other…), penser (transitive: to think or believe), se sentir (intransitive: to experience an emotion or other…), sensibilité (vague understanding)
Germanspüren, ertasten (transitive: to sense by touch), denken, das Gefühl haben (transitive: to think or believe), nach etw. tasten (intransitive: to search by touching), expressed verbally with anfühlen (quality)
Portugueseapalpar, tocar, sentir (transitive: to sense by touch), sentir-se (transitive: to experience an emotion or other…), pensar/crer/achar que (transitive: to think or believe), tato (quality)
Spanishsentir (transitive: to sense by touch), sentirse (intransitive: to experience an emotion or other…), tacto (quality), parecer (copulative: to seem), aspecto (mental impression), caricia (act of fondling)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does feel come from?

From Middle English felen, from Old English fēlan, from Proto-West Germanic *fōlijan.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after feel