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Glite Dictionary
to feel bad for

to feel bad for

108 2.8
Be sorry for someone who is unhappy or for something you did wrong
  • phrasal verb
  • /fiːl bæd fɔːr/
translation icon : sentir lástima por
  • I felt bad for how I acted last Sunday.
  • feel bad for people
  • feel bad for kids
  • feel bad for the family

I really feel bad for Las Vegas maids.

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Examples

  • You know I feel bad for him.

    Big House (2020)

  • And I feel bad for the kid.

    This Is 40 (2012)

  • But like, I feel bad for kids like that.

    The Basement Yard

  • So I feel bad for both of them.

  • I feel bad for leaving, I feel bad for staying.

  • And I really felt bad for her because they came after her.

  • Honestly, man, you know, I feel bad for the girls growing up.

  • By then, we knew what was going on, and we felt bad for May Anna.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • I feel bad for people who count calories.

    Shallow Hal (2001)

  • I really feel bad for him after hearing about his struggles.

Synonyms

to regret
vsto feel bad for
481 1.2

Feel sorry about a past action, a loss, or a missed chance

adds the option of feeling sympathy for someone else besides remorse
to feel bad about
vsto feel bad for
108 3.4

To be sorry about an action you did or failed to do

also covers feeling sympathy for others as well as personal guilt
to pity
vsto feel bad for
104 1.0

To feel sorry for someone who is suffering

can include inward guilt or remorse rather than only outward compassion
to feel for
vsto feel bad for
83 3.0

Have sympathy for someone who is suffering

also covers feeling guilty or remorseful about people or situations
to sympathize with
vsto feel bad for
44 3.4

To feel sorry for someone and understand their pain

may instead involve personal guilt or remorse about actions
to commiserate
vsto feel bad for
15 7.0

To feel or show sympathy for someone who is suffering

may instead be an internal feeling of guilt or private remorse
to rue
vsto feel bad for
14 7.5

To feel sorry about something you did or missed

is broader by also including feeling sympathy or pity for others
to feel like a louse
vsto feel bad for
  • Offensive
9.1

To be guilty and ashamed after treating someone badly

can be milder, covering simple sympathy or ordinary remorse

How Sympathetic

compassion
423 2.7
to pity
104 1.0
to feel bad for
108 2.8

Surface Forms

feel bad for infinitive
feeling bad for present participle
feels bad for third person singular
felt bad for past
felt bad for past participle

Morphology

feel + bad + for

The meaning is directly compositional: 'feel' (experience) + 'bad' (feeling sorry/upset) + 'for' (target) yields 'experience sympathy or remorse toward someone', a sense that B1 learners who know the parts can infer. This construction is common and parallels exist in many languages, so the intended sympathetic/guilty meaning is readily predictable from the constituents.

Etymology

Feel bad for gives a simple image: when you see someone upset you get a heavy, sad feeling inside, so you literally feel bad for them. That's why it means 'to feel sympathy or guilt' for someone.