Touch or Feel?

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Touch or Feel?

What is the difference between "touch" and "feel"?
  • "To touch" means to come in contact physically with something. For example:
    • If you touch the wire, you lose.
  • "To feel" means to touch something in order to discover something about it. For example:
    • Feel the shark's skin. It is rougher than it looks.
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More about "Touch" and "Feel"

The verbs "to touch" and "to feel" have similar meanings, but there is a subtle difference between them.

Touch

The verb "to touch" means to make physical contact with something (usually with the hand or finger).

Example sentences with "touch":
  • The paint is wet. Do not touch it.
  • For a moment, our fingers touched.
    • (In these two examples, "to touch" means to make physical contact. This is the most common meaning of "to touch.")
"To touch" can also be used figuratively with the meaning to invoke a feeling of affection, gratitude, or sympathy. For example:
  • Your painting touched me.
    • (Here, "to touch" means to invoke a feeling of emotion.)
As a noun, a "touch" is a small amount of something. For example:
  • The mixture needs a touch of sugar.
    • (Here, "touch" is a noun. It means a small amount.)

    Feel

    The verb "to feel" means to be aware of something (or to learn about something) by touching it. It also means to experience an emotion or sensation.

    Example sentences with "feel":
    • Feel the softness of this material.
      • (Here, "to feel" means to learn about something by touching it.)
    • I feel excited for the holiday.
      • (Here, "to feel" means to experience an emotion.)

    More about "To Touch" and "To Feel"

    Let's look at all five forms of the verb "to touch":
    No.Verb FormExample
    1Base Formtouch
    2The -S Form
    (also called the Third Person Singular Present Tense Form)    		touches
    3Past Formtouched
    4The -ING Form
    (also called the Present Participle Form)    		touching
    5The Past Participle Formtouched
    Here are all five forms of the verb "to feel":
    No.Verb FormExample
    1Base Formfeel
    2The -S Form
    (also called the Third Person Singular Present Tense Form)    		feels
    3Past Formfelt
    4The -ING Form
    (also called the Present Participle Form)    		feeling
    5The Past Participle Formfelt
    Interactive Exercise
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    See Also

    adverse or averse? affect or effect? appraise or apprise? avenge or revenge? bare or bear? complement or compliment? dependant or dependent? discreet or discrete? disinterested or uninterested? e.g. or i.e.? envy or jealousy? imply or infer? its or it's? material or materiel? poisonous or venomous? practice or practise? principal or principle? tenant or tenet? who's or whose? What are nouns? List of easily confused words