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Glite Dictionary
to feel like a pinhead

to feel like a pinhead

9.1
To be foolish or embarrassed after making a mistake
  • idiom
  • Offensive
translation icon : sentirse como un idiota
  • Whenever he forgets someone's name, he feels like a pinhead.

Examples

  • I feel like a pinhead for forgetting her birthday!

  • I felt like a pinhead after spilling coffee all over the table during the meeting.

  • She felt like a pinhead when she realized she'd been speaking to the wrong person all along.

  • After that mistake, he felt like a pinhead.

  • I felt like a pinhead after spilling coffee all over the table during the meeting.

  • She felt like a pinhead when she realized she'd been speaking to the wrong person all along.

  • I feel like a pinhead for forgetting her birthday!

Synonyms

to feel like a fool
vsto feel like a pinhead
9 6.0

To be embarrassed and silly because of something you did

is about embarrassment often from an error rather than general silliness
to feel dumb
vsto feel like a pinhead
  • Informal
3 6.0

Be embarrassed and think you are foolish after making a mistake

is more about feeling embarrassed than judging one’s intelligence
to feel like a schmuck
vsto feel like a pinhead
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To feel foolish and embarrassed about something you did

is broader, covering embarrassment beyond social judgment
to feel like a plonker
vsto feel like a pinhead
  • Offensive
9.9

Being foolish and embarrassed after making an obvious mistake

is similar but slightly more about feeling foolish than clumsy
to feel like a total boob
vsto feel like a pinhead
  • Offensive
9.9

To feel foolish or embarrassed because of a mistake

is the same feeling but without the extra intensity
to feel like a pillock
vsto feel like a pinhead
  • Offensive
9.9

To feel foolish because of something you did

focuses more on embarrassment from mistakes rather than general stupidity
to feel like a wally
vsto feel like a pinhead
  • Offensive
9.9

To feel foolish and embarrassed because of something you did

emphasizes the same embarrassment but may feel more mild
to feel like a dodo
vsto feel like a pinhead
  • Informal
9.6

To think you are silly after making a mistake

is about embarrassment generally rather than childish silliness
to feel like a boofhead
vsto feel like a pinhead
  • Offensive
9.9

To feel foolish after making a mistake

is the neutral sense of embarrassment without regional slang
to feel like a gomer
vsto feel like a pinhead
  • Archaic
9.9

Act or seem foolish and unable to do something in a situation

is focused more on embarrassment after a mistake than on skill level
to feel like a jackoff
vsto feel like a pinhead
  • Offensive
9.9

To feel foolish and embarrassed after a careless mistake

is similar but expressed in a neutral, less insulting way

Antonyms

confident
715 2.5

Feeling sure about yourself or what will happen

How Embarrassed

humiliated
  • Offensive
1 3.7
to feel like a pinhead
  • Offensive
9.1
awkward
311 2.7
unbothered
  • Informal
1 4.8

Surface Forms

feel like a pinhead infinitive
felt like a pinhead past
felt like a pinhead past participle
feeling like a pinhead present participle
feels like a pinhead third person singular

Morphology

feel + like + a + pinhead

The meaning 'to feel foolish or embarrassed' is directly derivable from combining 'feel' (to experience) + 'like' (similar to) with 'pinhead' (colloquial derogatory term for a stupid person), yielding 'feel like a stupid person.' Although 'pinhead' is informal/slang, the compositional pattern is straightforward and cross‑linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would likely understand it.

Etymology

Feel like a pinhead may come from the image of a very small pin head, a tiny, silly-looking head people used to use to describe someone foolish. So when you say you 'feel like a pinhead' you mean you feel 'foolish or embarrassed'.