feel-bad

Leaves you glum

Feel-bad describes entertainment, news, or experiences that leave you with negative emotions—sadness, discomfort, guilt, or unease.

It's the opposite of feel-good, applied to movies, stories, or outcomes that don't offer uplifting resolution.

It was a feel-bad ending where nobody wins.

The term often appears in phrases like feel-bad movie to signal that viewers should brace themselves rather than expect warm fuzzies.

emotional

guilt

Moral self-reproach

  • shamePainful awareness of failure
  • regretSorrow over past actions
  • remorseGuilt for wrongdoing

sadness · anxiety · dread · unease · distress · melancholy · dejected · low · down · blue

physical

ache

Persistent dull discomfort

  • painBodily or emotional distress
  • sorenessTender, painful sensation
  • nauseaPre-vomiting stomach discomfort

queasy · feverish · achy · unwell · malaise · discomfort · cramp · stiffness · headache · fatigue

Opposites
emotional valence/affective quality

feel-badfeel-good

Inducing cheerful contentment

uplifting · heartwarming · life-affirming · happy · joyful

narrative/media tone

feel-badfeel-good

Inducing cheerful contentment

heartwarming · uplifting · life-affirming · crowd-pleasing · inspirational

Family

feel, bad, feels, feeling, felt, feelings, feeler, feelers, badly

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated G