Idioms are fun phrases that mean something different from the actual words inside them. People use them to make talking and writing more colorful and exciting. In this article, you will learn sixty helpful idioms that all describe feeling sick, sad, or unwell.
In this lesson, we’ll look at idioms for feeling bad that mean experiencing physical or emotional discomfort. Let’s get started and explore some of these helpful expressions.
Idioms for Feeling Bad
1. Under the weather
Meaning: Feeling slightly sick, tired, or unwell.
For Example: Dad stayed home from work because he was feeling under the weather. / I felt a bit under the weather with a mild cold yesterday.
Other Ways to Say: Feeling sick / Unwell
2. Down in the dumps
Meaning: Feeling very sad, gloomy, or unhappy.
For Example: She looked down in the dumps after her favorite toy broke. / He felt a bit down in the dumps on a rainy indoor recess day.
Other Ways to Say: Feeling sad / Very blue
3. Out of sorts
Meaning: Feeling irritable, grumpy, or not quite right.
For Example: The sleepy toddler was feeling out of sorts all afternoon. / I felt a bit out of sorts after waking up too early.
Other Ways to Say: Irritable / Grumpy
4. Sick to your stomach
Meaning: Feeling nauseous from worry, anxiety, or illness.
For Example: I felt sick to my stomach before presenting my project in class. / Eating too many sweets made him feel sick to his stomach.
Other Ways to Say: Nauseous / Worried sick
5. Blue in the face
Meaning: Feeling exhausted from trying so hard to explain something.
For Example: I argued until I was blue in the face, but my brother still did not listen. / She talked until she was blue in the face trying to find her keys.
Other Ways to Say: Exhausted from talking / Frustrated
6. Down in the mouth
Meaning: Looking sad, disappointed, or unhappy.
For Example: Why are you looking so down in the mouth today? / He looked down in the mouth when his ice cream scoop fell off.
Other Ways to Say: Looking sad / Unhappy expression
7. Lump in your throat
Meaning: Feeling a tight sensation in your neck from sadness or emotion.
For Example: I had a lump in my throat while saying goodbye to my best friend. / Watching the sad movie gave her a lump in her throat.
Other Ways to Say: Emotional tightness / Choking feeling
8. Heart sinking
Meaning: Feeling a sudden wave of disappointment, worry, or sadness.
For Example: My heart sank when I realized I left my homework on the kitchen table. / She felt her heart sinking upon hearing the bad news.
Other Ways to Say: Disappointed / Sudden worry
9. Hot under the collar
Meaning: Feeling very angry, annoyed, or frustrated about something.
For Example: Dad got hot under the collar when someone cut him off in traffic. / The unfair rule made the students feel hot under the collar.
Other Ways to Say: Angry / Frustrated
10. Crestfallen
Meaning: Feeling sad and disappointed after a failed attempt.
For Example: He looked crestfallen when his soccer team lost the match. / She felt crestfallen upon hearing her favorite show was canceled.
Other Ways to Say: Disappointed / Dejected
11. Downhearted
Meaning: Feeling discouraged and lacking enthusiasm or hope.
For Example: Do not feel downhearted if you miss a basket on the first try. / He felt downhearted after losing his keys.
Other Ways to Say: Discouraged / Sad
12. Gloomy
Meaning: Feeling sad, low, or pessimistic about things.
For Example: The rainy weather made everyone feel a bit gloomy indoors. / He felt gloomy when his outdoor plans were ruined.
Other Ways to Say: Low spirits / Sad
13. Slumped
Meaning: Feeling tired, unmotivated, and physically drooped.
For Example: He sat slumped on the couch after a long day of practice. / She felt slumped over her desk from weariness.
Other Ways to Say: Slouched / Tired
14. Jittery
Meaning: Feeling nervous, jumpy, and unable to stay still.
For Example: Drinking too much soda made him feel jittery before the game. / She felt jittery waiting to speak in front of the crowd.
Other Ways to Say: Nervous / Shaky
15. Melancholy
Meaning: Feeling a quiet, gentle sadness or thoughtful longing.
For Example: The soft piano music brought a melancholy feeling to the room. / He felt a bit melancholy watching the autumn leaves fall.
Other Ways to Say: Quietly sad / Thoughtful
16. Despondent
Meaning: Feeling completely hopeless, gloomy, and deeply sad.
For Example: He felt despondent after misplacing his favorite baseball glove. / She looked despondent when her painting was ruined.
Other Ways to Say: Hopeless / Deeply sad
17. Apprehensive
Meaning: Feeling worried or uneasy that something bad might happen.
For Example: She felt apprehensive about riding the tall horse for the first time. / He felt apprehensive walking into the new school.
Other Ways to Say: Uneasy / Worried
18. Frustrated
Meaning: Feeling annoyed because things are not going your way.
For Example: He felt frustrated when his puzzle piece would not fit. / She felt frustrated trying to fix the tangled jump rope.
Other Ways to Say: Annoyed / Irritated
19. Moody
Meaning: Feeling sudden changes in emotion from happy to grumpy.
For Example: Tired children can sometimes become quite moody in the evening. / He felt a bit moody before eating a snack.
Other Ways to Say: Temperamental / Grumpy
20. Weary
Meaning: Feeling physically or mentally exhausted from hard work.
For Example: The hikers felt weary after climbing up the steep hill. / She felt weary after studying for hours.
Other Ways to Say: Exhausted / Tired
21. Pessimistic
Meaning: Feeling like only bad things will happen in a situation.
For Example: Try not to feel pessimistic before the game even starts. / He felt pessimistic about finding his lost toy.
Other Ways to Say: Negative / Doubtful
22. Overwhelmed
Meaning: Feeling like you have too much to handle at once.
For Example: Having too many chores made her feel completely overwhelmed. / He felt overwhelmed by the large crowd of people.
Other Ways to Say: Swamped / Stressed
23. Restless
Meaning: Feeling unable to rest, relax, or stay still.
For Example: Sitting indoors all day made him feel restless and bored. / She felt restless while waiting for the car ride to end.
Other Ways to Say: Fidgety / Uneasy
24. Off-color
Meaning: Looking or feeling slightly unwell or in poor health.
For Example: The teacher noticed he looked a bit off-color during class. / She felt off-color all morning and skipped gym.
Other Ways to Say: Unwell / Pale
25. Out of sorts today
Meaning: Feeling moody, unhappy, or poorly for no clear reason.
For Example: He was feeling out of sorts today and wanted to sleep early. / She felt out of sorts today after the noisy morning.
Other Ways to Say: Unhappy / Grumpy
26. Under a cloud
Meaning: Feeling sad, troubled, or suspected of something bad.
For Example: He felt like he was under a cloud after failing the quiz. / She walked around under a cloud all afternoon.
Other Ways to Say: Troubled / Sad
27. Feeling blue
Meaning: Feeling sad, gloomy, or down in spirits.
For Example: Listening to the slow music made her start feeling blue. / He had been feeling blue since his pet fish passed away.
Other Ways to Say: Sad / Downcast
28. Heart heavy
Meaning: Carrying a deep emotional sorrow or grief in your chest.
For Example: She left the playground with a heart heavy after losing her locket. / He had a heart heavy with worry about his sick cat.
Other Ways to Say: Sorrowful / Sad
29. Down in the dust
Meaning: Feeling utterly defeated, sad, and unsuccessful.
For Example: After losing the championship, the team felt down in the dust. / He felt down in the dust when his project fell apart.
Other Ways to Say: Defeated / Miserable
30. Out of commission
Meaning: Feeling too sick or injured to participate in activities.
For Example: I was out of commission with the flu all weekend. / She was out of commission after spraining her ankle.
Other Ways to Say: Sick in bed / Inactive
31. Running on empty
Meaning: Feeling totally exhausted of physical and mental energy.
For Example: After staying up late to study, I was running on empty. / The tired worker felt like he was running on empty.
Other Ways to Say: Exhausted / Drained
32. Dragging your feet
Meaning: Feeling sluggish, tired, and slow due to low energy.
For Example: I was dragging my feet all through the long Monday morning. / The puppy was dragging its feet on our evening walk.
Other Ways to Say: Moving slow / Tired
33. Wiped out
Meaning: Feeling completely drained of strength and energy.
For Example: Playing soccer for two hours left me completely wiped out. / She felt wiped out after cleaning the whole house.
Other Ways to Say: Exhausted / Spent
34. Beat up
Meaning: Feeling physically sore, tired, or worn out from hard work.
For Example: My legs felt beat up after climbing the steep mountain trail. / He felt beat up after moving heavy boxes all day.
Other Ways to Say: Sore / Worn out
35. Dead on your feet
Meaning: Being so exhausted that you can barely stand up.
For Example: After the long field trip, the students were dead on their feet. / She worked so hard she felt dead on her feet by nightfall.
Other Ways to Say: Extremely tired / Exhausted
36. Ready to drop
Meaning: Feeling so weary that you are about to fall asleep standing.
For Example: The sleepy toddler looked ready to drop after a long trip. / I stayed up so late I was ready to drop.
Other Ways to Say: Exhausted / Sleepy
37. Brain dead
Meaning: Feeling mentally exhausted and unable to think clearly.
For Example: After the long math test, my brain felt completely dead. / He felt brain dead after reading the long textbook chapter.
Other Ways to Say: Mentally tired / Drained
38. Run down
Meaning: Feeling weak, tired, and unhealthy from lack of rest.
For Example: Working too many hours left him feeling run down. / She felt run down and needed a good night of sleep.
Other Ways to Say: Exhausted / Weakened
39. Feeling poorly
Meaning: Experiencing physical illness or feeling unwell.
For Example: Grandma stayed in bed because she was feeling poorly today. / The dog was feeling poorly and did not want to eat.
Other Ways to Say: Unwell / Sick
40. Out of sorts and achy
Meaning: Feeling both irritable and physically sore or sick.
For Example: He woke up feeling out of sorts and achy with a fever. / She felt out of sorts and achy before catching the flu.
Other Ways to Say: Sick and grumpy / Unwell
41. Stiff as a board
Meaning: Feeling physically rigid and sore in your muscles.
For Example: My legs felt stiff as a board after running the marathon. / He woke up with his back feeling stiff as a board.
Other Ways to Say: Sore muscles / Rigid
42. Sore all over
Meaning: Feeling physical pain and discomfort across your whole body.
For Example: After playing football in the mud, I felt sore all over. / She felt sore all over after the intense gym workout.
Other Ways to Say: Aching / Painful
43. Knocked for a loop
Meaning: Feeling shocked, dizzy, or unwell from bad news.
For Example: The sudden change in schedule knocked me for a loop. / She was knocked for a loop by the surprising news.
Other Ways to Say: Shocked / Dizzy
44. Drained of energy
Meaning: Feeling completely empty of strength or vitality.
For Example: The hot summer sun left us drained of energy. / He felt drained of energy after the long bike ride.
Other Ways to Say: Exhausted / Tired
45. Shaken and stirred
Meaning: Feeling emotionally upset and disturbed by events.
For Example: The loud thunderstorm left the puppy shaken and stirred. / She felt shaken and stirred after the scary incident.
Other Ways to Say: Disturbed / Upset
46. Heavy-hearted
Meaning: Feeling burdened with sadness, worry, or grief.
For Example: He walked home heavy-hearted after failing his test. / She had a heavy-hearted feeling all day long.
Other Ways to Say: Sad / Troubled
47. Down in the cellar
Meaning: Feeling extremely low in spirits and unhappy.
For Example: His mood went down in the cellar when his game was canceled. / She felt down in the cellar all morning.
Other Ways to Say: Very low spirits / Sad
48. Out of commission with a cold
Meaning: Unable to do anything because of a sickness.
For Example: He was out of commission with a cold for three days. / She was out of commission with a cold during the party.
Other Ways to Say: Sick in bed / Unwell
49. Feeling washed out
Meaning: Looking and feeling pale, tired, and unwell.
For Example: After the flu, she was feeling washed out and weak. / He looked feeling washed out under the bright lights.
Other Ways to Say: Pale and tired / Unwell
50. Feeling peaked
Meaning: Looking pale, thin, and sick due to an illness.
For Example: The sick child was feeling peaked and needed soup. / She looked feeling peaked after missing sleep.
Other Ways to Say: Pale and sickly / Unwell
51. Out of gas
Meaning: Feeling completely out of physical energy to keep going.
For Example: I ran up the hill and felt completely out of gas. / He felt out of gas by the end of the soccer game.
Other Ways to Say: Exhausted / Out of energy
52. On the sick list
Meaning: Being officially or currently unwell and staying home.
For Example: Three students were on the sick list this week. / My cat was on the sick list and stayed inside.
Other Ways to Say: Unwell / Sick at home
53. Feeling wretched
Meaning: Feeling extremely unhappy, miserable, or physically sick.
For Example: I felt wretched all day with a bad stomachache. / She felt wretched after catching a terrible winter cold.
Other Ways to Say: Miserable / Very sick
54. Feeling low
Meaning: Experiencing sadness or a drop in happy spirits.
For Example: He had been feeling low ever since his dog ran away. / She was feeling low because of the gloomy weather.
Other Ways to Say: Sad / Depressed
55. In the doldrums
Meaning: Feeling stuck in a sad, dull, and unenergetic mood.
For Example: The long rainy week put the whole class in the doldrums. / He felt stuck in the doldrums all afternoon.
Other Ways to Say: Gloomy mood / Dull spirits
56. Down in the boots
Meaning: Feeling thoroughly disappointed and sad.
For Example: His spirits were down in the boots when he lost his wallet. / She felt down in the boots after the bad news.
Other Ways to Say: Disappointed / Sad
57. Under the hammer
Meaning: Feeling stressed and pressured by difficult circumstances.
For Example: He felt under the hammer with three tests on the same day. / She felt under the hammer trying to finish the project.
Other Ways to Say: Stressed / Pressured
58. Feeling sore
Meaning: Experiencing physical pain or emotional hurt.
For Example: My arms were feeling sore after lifting heavy books. / He was feeling sore about losing the argument.
Other Ways to Say: Aching / Hurt
59. Out of sorts and tired
Meaning: Feeling irritable and exhausted at the same time.
For Example: The baby was out of sorts and tired all evening. / I felt out of sorts and tired after the long trip.
Other Ways to Say: Grumpy and tired / Unwell
60. Feeling grim
Meaning: Feeling very unpleasant, gloomy, or sick.
For Example: The stormy weather outside made everyone feel grim. / He felt grim after eating spoiled food.
Other Ways to Say: Gloomy / Unpleasant
Exercise to Practice
- Dad stayed home from work because he was feeling under the ________.
- She looked down in the ________ after her favorite toy broke.
- I felt sick to my ________ before presenting my project in class.
- Why are you looking so down in the ________ today?
- Dad got hot under the ________ when someone cut him off in traffic.
- He looked crestfallen when his soccer team lost the ________.
- The rainy weather made everyone feel a bit ________ indoors.
- Drinking too much soda made him feel ________ before the game.
- He woke up feeling out of sorts and ________ with a fever.
- After staying up late to study, I was running on ________.
- Playing soccer for two hours left me completely wiped ________.
- After the long field trip, the students were dead on their ________.
- The sick child was feeling ________ and needed soup.
- He had been feeling ________ ever since his dog ran away.
- The stormy weather outside made everyone feel ________.
Answer Key
- weather
- dumps
- stomach
- mouth
- collar
- match
- gloomy
- jittery
- achy
- empty
- out
- feet
- peaked
- low
- grim
Conclusion
Learning idioms about feeling bad helps you describe physical sickness and emotional sadness in creative and colorful ways. Instead of using plain words, you can paint a picture with language by using these fun expressions. Try using a few of these expressions when you talk with your friends or write your next school story.
