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Glite Dictionary
to feel out

to feel out

7 5.3
Try to find out someone's opinion or plans without asking directly
  • phrasal verb
  • /fiːl aʊt/
translation icon : sondear
  • I could give him a call and feel him out.
  • feel each other out
  • just feeling them out

Examples

  • In a new relationship, it's important to feel out what the other person wants before moving forward.

  • Can't you just call him up on the telephone... and say you want to have a drink with him, just feel him out?

    All the President's Men (1976)

  • So you gotta feel them out, see?

    Boiler Room (2000)

  • I mean, again, I just looked, just to feel out what I was gonna say to you.

    The Girlfriend Experience (2009)

  • You gotta feel them out.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • I think you have to feel out the situation and be very intuitive.

  • So feel him out, see what he's playing with.

    Boiler Room (2000)

  • My advice is to feel your brother out while he's here.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • The first part of the first half was a fairly uneventful affair as the teams seemed to be feeling each other out.

    Blog text (5)

  • Before making a big decision, it's wise to feel out how your team feels about the changes.

Synonyms

to sound out
vsto feel out
2 4.4

Try to find out what someone thinks by asking indirect questions

relies on cautious observation and indirect approaches rather than direct asking
to put out feelers
vsto feel out
  • Informal
1 6.2

Ask people quietly to find out their views or if something is possible

is used more generally to learn opinions without immediate action

Antonyms

to ignore
∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

to dismiss
332 3.0

To refuse to accept an idea or claim

How Direct

to probe
  • Literature
35 5.1
to ask
∞ 1.0
to feel out
7 5.3
to hint
136 2.0

Surface Forms

feel out infinitive
felt out past
felt out past participle
feeling out present participle
feels out third person singular

Morphology

feel + out

The verb 'feel' (to sense) combined with the particle 'out' evokes sensing outward or probing, so there is a recognizable link to finding out someone’s views. However, the pragmatic sense of deliberately and indirectly probing opinions is a metaphorical extension of the literal senses and is not fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Feel out comes from the image of using your hands to feel around out in the dark to find something, so you learn by touch instead of seeing. That's why it now means to try to 'find out' someone's 'opinions' or 'intentions' without asking directly.