feeler en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Middle English feler, feeler, felar, equivalent to feel + -er. Animal organ definition from 1660s. Transferred sense of "proposal put forth to observe the reaction it gets" is from 1830.
Meanings
-
(literally) Someone or something that feels.
Are you more of a feeler or more of a thinker?
-
An antenna or appendage used for feeling, especially on an insect.
Her mate has tried to avoid this destiny. The male European mantis “uses his feelers to calm her down”, the BBC narrates.
2021 May 27, Helen Sullivan, “A praying mantis: she bites into her mate’s head like an apple and cleans her face ‘like a cat’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 14 Mar 2023:
-
(figuratively) Something ventured to test another's feelings, opinion, or position.
I sent out some feelers but they didn't seem interested.
This survey is designed to get a feeler about how the citizens feel about the proposed new highway.
Mr. Dayan's peace feeler would he more attractive to Cairo if it were accompanied by suggestions from Jerusalem, public private, for safeguarding Israeli security interests there without sacrificing Cairo's claim to ultimate sovereignty.
1972 August 30, “Dayan's Peace Feeler”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 10 Mar 2018:In 1905, the Russo-Japanese war fought itself to a standstill, and with the destruction of Rozhiestvensky's fleet at Tsushima, the Japanese, for financial reasons, had to put out feelers for peace.
1952 July, the late H. Carew, “By Special Train in the Far East”, in Railway Magazine, page 488:
-
(Philippines, figuratively) a presumptive person; someone who bases on gut feeling, such as assuming or imagining that something said or done, whether positive or negative, was for a person despite having no concrete confirmation but gut feeling, or someone who assumes one's affection is reciprocated, or indulges in one's own wishful thinking or flatters oneself
All I can say to you is be cool, stick together and do your best to keep your 'affairs' away from the administration's "feelers" because there's no justice in the justice business.
1988 February 21, Jery Ragland, “A Hell Of An Appeal”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 31, page 5:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| feelers | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
touchy-feeler · put out feelers · feelered · feeler gauge
Translations (54)
uk ву́сик (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · is fálmari (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · bg намек (Something ventured to test other's feelings) · sv känselspröt (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · da følehorn (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · tr anten (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · hu csáp (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · nb føletråd (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · la palpus (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · nl voelspriet (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · uk анте́на (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · pl czułek (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · ga adharcán (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · cs tykadlo (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · es antena (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · fa شاخک (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · de Fühler (someone or something that feels) · sv trevare (Something ventured to test other's feelings) · pt sentidor (someone or something that feels) · is þreifari (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · da føletråd (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · mi hihi (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · da føler (Something ventured to test other's feelings) · nl voeldraad (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · it antenna (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · bg пипалце (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · ast antena (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · nl proefballon (Something ventured to test other's feelings) · hy շոշափուկ (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · ru анте́нна (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · de Fühler (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · ang lim (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · ast cuernu (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · ru сяжо́к (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · tr duyarga (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · ru у́сик (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · pt sensor (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · eo anteno (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · sv försöksballong (Something ventured to test other's feelings) · vi xúc giác (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · uk щу́пальце (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · pt palpo (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · fi tuntosarvi (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · ja 触角 (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · bg антена (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · mi pūhihi (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · nl voelhoorn (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · ru щуп (someone or something that feels) · ru щу́пальце (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · af voeler (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · da prøveballon (Something ventured to test other's feelings) · tr lamise (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · tg шохак (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect) · hi शृंगिका (an antenna or appendage used to feel, as on an insect)