to feel lousy
12
6.9
- phrasal verb
- Informal
- I've been feeling lousy.
- makes me feel lousy
- really feel lousy
- just feel lousy
Examples
-
I feel lousy about the pain that I've caused my wife and kids.
-
Erica, it's normal to feel lousy when a husband walks out on you.
-
I know you feel lousy... ...but you gotta eat.
-
- Hey, man, I feel lousy.
-
I feel lousy about myself all the time.
-
I'm coming down with this cold, and I feel lousy.
-
Well, after all that's happened, I'm not surprised you feel lousy.
-
I feel lousy about my practice, lousy about myself, lonely, and ineffective.
Blog text (4) -
- I'm feeling lousy.
-
I'm coming down with this cold, and I feel lousy.
Synonyms
4
1.8
To be sick or slightly ill
To be a little sick, often after eating bad food
Antonyms
How Unwell
416
1.8
∞
1.0
- Informal
12
6.9
18
1.0
- Informal
22
5.3
665
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'lousy' already conveys 'bad, unpleasant, or of poor quality', so combining it with 'feel' yields a directly interpretable meaning of 'feel bad/unwell or miserable.' This verb + adjective composition is a common, productive pattern in English (and mirrored in many languages), making the phrase predictable for a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
The phrase feel lousy comes from long ago when lousy meant 'full of lice', tiny insects called louse. People with lice felt itchy, dirty and miserable, so feel lousy came to mean 'to feel unwell' or unhappy.