Meanings
present singular third person feels like · participle present feeling like · participle past felt like · past felt like
- idiomaticTo have a desire for something, or to do something.
I didn't feel like working yesterday, so I called in sick.
- idiomaticTo perceive oneself to resemble (something); to have the sense of being (something).
“Perhaps it is because I have been excommunicated. It's absurd, but I feel like the Jackdaw of Rheims.” ¶ She winced and bowed her head. Each time that he spoke flippantly of the Church he caused her pain.
1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XVII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC - idiomaticTo feel that something is likely to happen; to predict.
I feel like it will rain all week.
1 more example
She felt like the dog could start biting at any moment.
- idiomaticTo feel as though.
Kenny is beginning to feel dizzy and sags. She jams a hand under his arm to prop him up. He feels like he’s about to pass out.
2006, Don Otey, chapter 56, in Terror’s Mask, Lincoln, Neb.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 2422 more examples
Those guinea feathers blew out in the sun ahead of us and lighted up, then got sucked back into the shade. That old wreck wasn’t going to fly, it wasn’t even going to roll on those flat tires. But I felt like I was flying through a cloud of guinea feathers.
1987, Charles Hammer, chapter 3, in Wrong-Way Ragsdale, New York, N.Y.: Farrar / Straus / Giroux, →LCCN, page 17I’m real scared . . . stiff all over . . . I feel like I am dying . . . I can’t move . . . I don’t want to die . . . help me.
1992, Peter Levine, “The Body as Healer: A Revisioning of Trauma and Anxiety”, in Maxine Sheets-Johnstone, editor, Giving the Body Its Due (The Body in Culture, History, and Religion), Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, →ISBN, page 91 - impersonalTo give a perception of something; to appear or to seem.
It felt like rain, but it barely drizzled.
2 more examples
It feels like Gerald is the likely suspect.
The minimalist Berkeley shop, with concrete, gray tones and white furniture, feels more like a tech store than a neighborhood café, but it’s no less inviting.
2026 August 15, Irene Adeline Milanez, “We tasted boba from some of the Bay Area’s most popular chains. Here’s our No. 1”, in San Francisco Chronicle, archived from the original on 16 Aug 2026 - impersonalclimatologyDenotes the apparent temperature.
Synonyms & antonyms
Translations
Bengali ইচ্ছা হওয়া
- ইচ্ছা হওয়া (iccha hōẇa)have a desire for something, or to do something
Catalan venir de gust, abellir
- venir de gusthave a desire for something, or to do something
- abellirhave a desire for something, or to do something
Chinese Mandarin 想要, 想
- 想要 (xiǎngyào)have a desire for something, or to do something
- 想 (xiǎng)have a desire for something, or to do something
- 有興趣 /有兴趣 (yǒuxìngqù)have a desire for something, or to do something
- 有興致 /有兴致 (yǒuxìngzhì)have a desire for something, or to do something
- 感覺自己像 /感觉自己像 (gǎnjué zìjǐ xiàng)perceive oneself to resemble
Danish have lyst til
- have lyst tilhave a desire for something, or to do something
Dutch zin hebben, zich voelen als
- zin hebbenhave a desire for something, or to do something
- zich voelen alsperceive oneself to resemble
- het gevoel hebben datTo feel as though
Esperanto emi
- emihave a desire for something, or to do something
Estonian viitsima
- viitsimahave a desire for something, or to do something
Finnish tehdä mieli, huvittaa
- tehdä mielihave a desire for something, or to do something
- huvittaahave a desire for something, or to do something
- viitsiähave a desire for something, or to do something
- tuntua kuinperceive oneself to resemble
French avoir envie de, être tenté
- avoir envie dehave a desire for something, or to do something
- être tentéhave a desire for something, or to do something
- se sentir commeperceive oneself to resemble
German Lust haben auf, Bock haben auf
- Lust haben aufhave a desire for something, or to do something
- Bock haben aufhave a desire for something, or to do something
- sich fühlen wieperceive oneself to resemble
- das Gefühl haben, dassTo feel as though
Greek μου έρχεται, βαριέμαι
- μου έρχεται (mou érchetai)have a desire for something, or to do something
- βαριέμαι (variémai)have a desire for something, or to do something
Hebrew בא
- בא (ba)have a desire for something, or to do something
Hungarian van kedve, (úgy) érzi magát
- van kedvehave a desire for something, or to do something
- (úgy) érzi magát (mint/mintha)perceive oneself to resemble
- úgy érzi, hogyTo feel as though
Icelandic langa í, nenna
- langa íhave a desire for something, or to do something
- nennahave a desire for something, or to do something
- finna aðTo feel as though
Irish fonn a bheith ort chun, braith ar nós
- fonn a bheith ort chunhave a desire for something, or to do something
- braith ar nósperceive oneself to resemble
- mothaigh goTo feel as though
Italian avere voglia di
- avere voglia dihave a desire for something, or to do something
Japanese ほしい
- ほしい (hoshii)have a desire for something, or to do something
Polish chcieć się, zachcieć się
- chcieć sięhave a desire for something, or to do something
- zachcieć sięhave a desire for something, or to do something
- czuć się jakperceive oneself to resemble
- poczuć się jakperceive oneself to resemble
- czuć się, jakbyTo feel as though
- poczuć się, jakbyTo feel as though
Portuguese ter vontade de, querer
- ter vontade dehave a desire for something, or to do something
- quererhave a desire for something, or to do something
- estar a fim dehave a desire for something, or to do something
- sentir-se comoperceive oneself to resemble
- parecer, parece que (até)To feel as though
Russian хоте́ться, хоте́лось бы
- хоте́ться (xotétʹsja)have a desire for something, or to do something
- хоте́лось бы (xotélosʹ by)have a desire for something, or to do something
- хоте́ть (xotétʹ)have a desire for something, or to do something
- жела́ть (želátʹ)have a desire for something, or to do something
Spanish tener ganas de, apetecer
- tener ganas dehave a desire for something, or to do something
- apetecerhave a desire for something, or to do something
- antojárselehave a desire for something, or to do something
- provocarlehave a desire for something, or to do something
- tincarlehave a desire for something, or to do something
- sentirse comoperceive oneself to resemble
Swedish känna för, känna sig som
- känna förhave a desire for something, or to do something
- känna sig somperceive oneself to resemble
- känna attTo feel as though
Cite this entry
feel like. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feel%20like
“feel like.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feel%20like. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “feel like,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feel%20like.
Source: feel like on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.