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to feel down

to feel down

15 3.0
Be sad or unhappy
  • phrasal verb
  • /fiːl daʊn/
translation icon : sentirse decaído
  • Whenever I feel down, I reach out to friends for support.
  • feeling down and hopeless
  • feeling down and depressed
  • bothered by feeling down

I woke up today feeling unsettled, feeling down about this case.

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Examples

  • So if you're ever feeling down, just pop on a video of that.

  • There are times when we feel down in the dumps, and sometimes it appears for no specific reason.

    Blog text (20)
  • We, we could all use help when we're feeling down, but we never know how or where to ask for it.

  • And I was feeling down, but you got up there.

  • Just when I was feeling peace about it, I started to feel down about it again on Friday night.

    Blog text (3)
  • Sally is feeling down, what do you think we need?

  • Over the last two weeks, how often have you been feeling down, depressed or hopeless?

  • He was feeling down because his work did not make the show.

  • Your music is so uplifting; it helps me when I am feeling down.

    Blog text (11)
  • We will give them a hug if they are feeling down, and we will say: 'Don't worry; I'm here; talk to me.'

    Academic text (2008)

Synonyms

to feel blue
vsto feel down
  • Informal
12 6.5

To be sad for a short time

is the broader phrase for being unhappy or low in mood
to have the blues
vsto feel down
3 7.0

Feel sad and a little down

is a neutral general word for feeling unhappy or sad
to feel empty inside
vsto feel down
1 7.5

To have a deep sadness and no meaning inside you

is a simpler sad feeling without deep emptiness or void
to get depresh
vsto feel down
  • Slang
9.9

To feel sad and low for a while

is the neutral way to describe feeling unhappy or sad
to feel a bit depresh
vsto feel down
  • Slang
9.7

To be a little sad and tired

often expresses a stronger general sadness or depression
to get glumpy
vsto feel down
  • UK
9.9

To feel sad and moody

is the general state of unhappiness rather than temporary mood

Antonyms

1.0

Feeling pleased and content

3.9

Feeling happy and proud because something made you feel better

How Sad

depressed
441 3.5
sad
1.0
to feel down
15 3.0
low
336 1.0

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

feel + down

The meaning 'to feel unhappy or sad' is directly derivable from combining 'feel' (to experience an emotion) with 'down' (feeling low or depressed). This follows the common English pattern feel + adjective and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both words will likely understand the expression.

Etymology

The phrase feel down may come from a simple image: when people are sad they lower their head and shoulders and look physically down. That's why feel down means 'to feel unhappy'.