feeler

noun
/ˈfiːlə/UK/ˈfiːləɹ/US

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.

  1. inherited from feler

Definitions

  1. Someone or something that feels.

    • Are you more of a feeler or more of a thinker?
  2. An antenna or appendage used for feeling, especially on an insect.

  3. 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.
    • 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.
  4. + 1 more definition
    1. a presumptive person

      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

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for feeler. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA