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Glite Dictionary
to feel like

to feel like

∞ 3.0
To want to do or have something
  • phrasal verb
  • /fiːl laɪk/
translation icon : tener ganas de
  • Living on our own small private island made us feel like characters out of Robinson Crusoe.
  • makes me feel like
  • feel like going
  • feel like saying

Do you guys feel like a smaller graphics card?

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Examples

  • And I don't always feel like I'm doing that well.

  • I feel like trying a new restaurant for dinner tonight.

  • And so I am able to feel like I have family.

  • And do you feel like you could perform again?

    Spinal Tap II: The End Continues (2025)

  • Started to feel like I was going crazy.

    Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

  • Okay, but I feel like we're really getting somewhere here.

    Harmony (2022)

  • So do you feel like you need a reset?

  • I feel like I'm getting worse every hour.

    Knox Goes Away (2024)

  • As a consequence, I get the sense that people really feel like I am there with them.

    Academic text (1999)

  • No, I don't feel like this is very good.

Synonyms

to like
vsto feel like
∞ 1.0

To want something, often as a polite request

is a temporary or sudden inclination rather than a steady preference

Antonyms

unwilling
139 3.4

Not wanting to do something and doing it only because you must

to not feel it
  • Informal
16 8.3

To not be interested or excited about something

How Strong

to yearn
92 4.9
to crave
103 3.8
desire
∞ 1.6
to want
∞ 1.0
to feel like
∞ 3.0
fancy
  • UK
45 4.2

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

feel + like

The meaning 'to want or have an inclination' is directly related to combining 'feel' (to experience) with 'like' (to have a liking or desire) — it literally expresses having a feeling of liking/ inclination. However, the grammaticalized pattern (feel like + verb/gerund = 'want to') is somewhat conventionalized and may not be fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Feel like may come from the simple image of having an inner feel that is like a small push toward an action. So, when you say you feel like doing something, it means 'to want'.