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"I feel well" and "I feel good" these both sentences are used occasionally, but what is difference between them. I mean when someone ask to a patient "How are you feeling now" and he replies "I feel well" or "I feel good" then the person who is asking this question might be confused. I mean in which context patient is informing. Thanks...

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    This question has answer here in English stackexchange site
    – Ms.Tamil
    Nov 9, 2018 at 6:02

1 Answer 1

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You know that after "feel" we need to use adjectives, not adverbs, don't you? For example, I feel ill, cheerful, bad, etc.

So, if well is an adjective, then it means healthy: I feel well = My health is good.

And if you feel good, then you feel happy ("I feel good! And I feel nice, like sugar and spice!" - from James Brown's "I feel good").

However, good can also mean healthy depending on the context:

I don't feel very good. I need to lie down.

In this case good and well are interchangeable.

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    Some prescriptivists would argue that "I feel good" would mean that the speaker does not feel evil at the moment.
    – miltonaut
    Nov 9, 2018 at 12:58
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    As a Briton, when I say "How are you?" to an American, and he/she says "I'm good", I want to say "I wasn't enquiring about your moral status". Nov 9, 2018 at 14:13
  • I should perhaps modify my comment to read "to an American, or a British millennial". Nov 9, 2018 at 21:10

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