feel out

phrasal verb

felt out; feeling out; feels out
: to talk to or question (someone) in an indirect way in order to find out if something one wants to do or get will be possible
He tried to feel us out to see if we'd loan him more money.

Examples of feel out in a Sentence

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The American Dream of opportunity feels out of reach for too many of us. Linda Chapin, Orlando Sentinel, 9 Mar. 2025 Amid a slew of unrealistic beauty standards on social media, Maher knows that people can feel out of place in their bodies. Alyssa Goldberg, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2025 After the tour to support Funeral, the band laid down acoustic versions of the Funeral material, often in one take, feeling out arrangements, reworking the songs in ways no less powerful than the originals, but quieter, more gestural, less anthemic. Joe Gross, Rolling Stone, 26 Feb. 2025 Still, she’s reportedly felt out of the loop with Musk’s moves, and Trump’s prior chiefs of staff have struggled to stay employed. Joe Walsh, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for feel out

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Cite this Entry

“Feel out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feel%20out. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.

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