Emotions can be challenging to express, mainly when you write them on paper. Here is a list of emotion words for writers who want to improve their craft.
Contents
What Are Emotion Words?
Emotion words are words writers use to convey complex and more specific feelings and expressions. They describe or refer to one’s responses to their environment, which in turn cause a person to sense perception and state of mind.
Below is a list of emotion words you can use to broaden and develop your writing further:
| Absolute | Glad | Outraged |
| Alarmed | Guilty | Overwhelmed |
| Amused | Healthy | Panicked |
| Annoyed | Heartwarming | Pleased |
| Anxious | Helpless | Powerless |
| Ashamed | Hopeful | Proud |
| Authentic | Hostile | Provoked |
| Authoritative | Hurt | Purposeful |
| Bitter | Inferior | Rejected |
| Cherished | Influential | Reliable |
| Commanding | Insecure | Remorseful |
| Crabby | Insignificant | Resentful |
| Dear | Inspired | Respected |
| Delighted | Intimate | Scared |
| Depressed | Intolerant | Sentimental |
| Despair | Involved | Stingy |
| Determined | Ironclad | Strategic |
| Dissatisfied | Isolated | Strong |
| Empty | Jealous | Terrified |
| Encouraging | Joyful | Thankful |
| Enraged | Kind | Threatened |
| Exasperated | Lonely | Trusting |
| Exciting | Loving | Victimized |
| Expert | Mad | Vulnerable |
| Exposed | Nostalgic | Weak |
| Fragile | Official | Withdrawn |
| Free | Optimistic | Wrathful |
Happy Emotion Words
Most happy emotion words convey a positive sentiment. Writers use these words to describe a happy emotion, scenario, character, setting, and other favorable affinities.
1. Optimistic
Sarah’s optimistic personality keeps her from negativity.
2. Joyful
Notice that the children are joyful when bonding with their parents.
3. Thankful
One of the best things you can do for mindfulness is be thankful for your possessions.
4. Inspired
Brandon looked inspired after seeing his idol’s masterpiece firsthand.
5. Free
Little Trixie’s free personality and open mind make it easy for her to adapt to any situation.
6. Proud
My grandmother is very proud of my achievements, no matter how big or small.
7. Exciting
The children went straight to bed after spending an exciting day at the beach.
8. Heartwarming
Toddlers can have very heartwarming and pure reactions to everyday items, scenarios, and people.
9. Healthy
Most people complimented Anastasia for her skin’s smoothness and healthy glow.
10. Encouraging
Wilson’s father has always been encouraging, especially regarding his basketball pursuits.
11. Hopeful
There was a hopeful gleam in my dog’s gaze when it saw me step into the kitchen.
12. Amused
The audience’s amused laughter and enthusiastic applause said it all.
13. Glad
My grandparents are always glad to see my family and me for dinner.
14. Delighted
My brother shared a delighted smile whenever we sailed past this lighthouse.
15. Pleased
Aphrodite’s lingering touch and sultry gaze were enough to earn pleased reactions from her clients.
Powerful Emotion Words
Powerful emotion words give off a sense of control or power when used in writing. Many marketers use these words to gain their target customers’ attention and trust. Writers can use powerful emotion words to describe people, political concepts, real-life scenarios, and more.
1. Commanding
You can’t gain respect in the organization if you don’t adopt a commanding voice or confident posture.
2. Authoritative
Our professor’s authoritative teaching methods pushed the children away.
3. Absolute
My grandmother prepared our Christmas dinner with absolute care and attention.
4. Official
The government’s official announcement gave the public no clue about the truth behind the attack.
5. Ironclad
Despite his ironclad alibi, the police officers heavily suspected Bruno’s connection to the crime.
6. Reliable
My friend’s consistency and punctuality make him a reliable trustee.
7. Strategic
Many people’s modern business approaches are inspired by Sun Tzu’s strategic military schemes.
8. Expert
We want your expert opinion to support our claims in court.
9. Authentic
That is an authentic Philippine banknote from the 1910s.
10. Influential
Martin Luther King Jr. delivered an iconic and influential speech that stirred many hearts.
11. Strong
The woman’s grit and patience revealed a strong will underneath a fragile appearance.
12. Purposeful
The debater’s witty and purposeful arguments paved his team’s path to winning the regional meet.
13. Determined
He endured blistering winds and scorching deserts with a resolve that outmatched even the most determined men.
Sad Emotion Words
Sad emotion words have a negative impact that often has undertones of miserableness or gloom. Writers use sad emotion words to describe tragic, unfortunate, or heartbreaking scenarios.
1. Depressed
Many young people today are depressed and discouraged because of the economy.
2. Inferior
Although he had a more difficult job, many people treated him like he was in an inferior position.
3. Empty
It’s worse to have an empty heart than an empty stomach.
4. Remorseful
Truly remorseful people take responsibility for their actions and do not make excuses.
5. Guilty
When she died, Kalista became a spirit that hunted and haunted those guilty of betrayal.
6. Hurt
His head hung, and then his shoulders slumped, showing immense hurt that physical wounds or pain couldn’t measure.
7. Powerless
I often felt powerless when playing against my teammates during training, but it was only proof that I was growing stronger and more aware of my skill level.
8. Fragile
He didn’t realize that his heart had grown fragile after spending many years in her arms.
9. Vulnerable
The lost, vulnerable young girl cried.
10. Lonely
A life focused on chasing the most fortune or fame is a lonely one.
11. Victimized
The woman would always recall the story of her victimized mother and abusive father.
12. Ashamed
We all know that he shouldn’t have a reason to be ashamed of his father’s janitorial position.
13. Isolated
The artwork portrayed an isolated building, empty streets, and dimly lit windows.
14. Despair
Anybody who listened to her could hear the singer’s despair in her voice.
15. Withdrawn
Many friends have grown distant and withdrawn in face-to-face gatherings due to distance learning.
16. Bitter
You could tell he was bitter by his cutting remarks and sarcastic demeanor.
Fearful Emotion Words
Do you want your writing to deliver a concept of fear? Fear comes in many forms and flavors, like the other emotion words we’ve already discussed. Below are the different fear emotion words you can integrate into your writing.
1. Threatened
Many threatened animals will try to look bigger by raising their hackles or feathers.
2. Scared
It’s human nature to feel uneasy and scared by the unknown.
3. Helpless
His helpless cries reached the ears of the authorities too late.
4. Overwhelmed
The rapid flashing and noise of the club made her feel overwhelmed like never before.
5. Exposed
They exposed their hearts to one another but grew distant as time passed
6. Rejected
Their rejected papers quickly saw the inside of the garbage can.
7. Weak
A strong mind can overcome a weak heart, but not the other way around.
8. Insecure
Her insecure husband often checked on her messages and kept her from going out with her friends.
9. Anxious
The anxious kitten quickly backed away when the bullfrog croaked.
10. Insignificant
Nobody wants to be seen as an insignificant person, especially by their loved ones.
11. Terrified
Was he terrified when he saw the alligator crawling into the riverbank?
12. Alarmed
Their mother’s alarmed cry summoned everyone into the kitchen faster than anything could.
13. Panicked
His terror showed in his shaky hands, short sentences, and panicked voice.
Angry Emotion Words
Writers use angry emotion words to portray the negative reactions related to wrath, frustration, and ire. These words can be warning signs of a person disliking a situation or others. Consider using these angry emotion words to convey different parts of the anger spectrum, whether slight antagonism or intense fury.
1. Annoyed
Anybody could tell you were annoyed by their tardiness when you kept checking your watch and tapping the table with the pen.
2. Hostile
The cat’s hostile demeanor made it difficult for us to give her medicine.
3. Crabby
Most people become crabby when they miss a meal, but he gets crabby when he lacks sleep.
4. Mad
We called her “Mad Martha” in childhood because she always kept getting angry at minor things.
5. Outraged
If the king hadn’t been so outraged by the prince’s insinuations, he would have seen the way his court reacted to his outburst.
6. Provoked
Most wild animals will fight in self-defense when provoked.
7. Resentful
The criminal’s statements were so resentful that the judge decided to lengthen his sentence.
8. Dissatisfied
After being dissatisfied many times, Alejandro’s wife began looking for other men who could meet her needs.
9. Intolerant
The human resources department received many complaints about the intolerant assistant manager.
10. Jealous
The middle child felt jealous of his parents’ attention to his older and younger siblings.
11. Stingy
My stingy neighbor would avoid giving tips to service workers entirely if he could get away with it.
12. Wrathful
In the old days, a woman’s wrathful statements could make her sound like a witch and face death.
13. Enraged
The enraged crowd blocked the area so none of the fake celebrities could escape.
14. Exasperated
The elementary students didn’t pick up on their teacher’s exasperated tone.
Love Emotion Words
Love, and relationship-related emotion words describe feelings associated with romance, kinship, friendship, and everything in between. Below are examples you should consider integrating into your written works.
1. Intimate
The warm lighting, candles, and cozy space made the room feel more intimate.
2. Trusting
Your father’s trusting nature doesn’t mix well in a dog-eat-dog city like this.
3. Loving
Nothing is more loving than a dog’s enthusiasm to see you arrive home every day.
4. Kind
The farmer’s kind actions helped the fierce general see past his pride.
5. Sentimental
Whenever we held family gatherings, our great-uncle Stan always pulled out a box of trinkets and knickknacks with deep sentimental values.
6. Nostalgic
The restaurant plays songs from the 90s and early 2000s, creating a nostalgic atmosphere suited for many of its adult customers.
7. Respected
After ten years of hard training and combat experiences, Katherine surpassed her highly respected grandfather’s rank.
8. Involved
She told him they weren’t technically involved until they did anything considered romantic or erotic.
9. Cherished
The entire department threw a farewell party for their cherished boss of ten years for his retirement.
10. Dear
My dear daughter could never figure out how I, a child who grew up in the 90s, beat her in Mario Kart.
If you are looking for more, check out our list of pronouns for writers!
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