Here is our list of mood words for literature to help you with your writing.
Self-awareness sets humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. This includes being conscious of our moods. However, communicating our frame of mind through writing can be difficult. Mood words assist you in effectively relaying your disposition.
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What Are Mood Words?
Mood words are employed in literature to elicit various emotions in readers. It’s done with a piece’s setting, tone, theme, and diction. It’s sometimes referred to as a work’s “atmosphere.” Asking yourself how you feel after reading is an excellent method to gauge a piece’s mood.
Here is a list of mood words you can see in literature:
| Aflutter | Emotional | Melancholy |
| Aloof | Enthused | Miffy |
| Amusement | Erratic | Moody |
| Angry | Euphoric | Mournful |
| Antsy | Excited | Mysterious |
| Avid | Exhausted | Nervous |
| Awe | Famished | Neurotic |
| Bitter | Fearful | Numb |
| Blank | Fiery | Ominous |
| Blue | Gloomy | On edge |
| Calm | Gorged | Ornery |
| Cantankerous | Gormandizing | Pessimistic |
| Capricious | Gratitude | Petrified |
| Cheerful | Grim | Petulant |
| Chuffed | Grumpy | Pride |
| Colorless | Hesitant | Queasy |
| Covetous | Hollow | Ravenous |
| Crabby | Hope | Reflective |
| Cranky | Hopeless | Restless |
| Craving | Humorous | Romantic |
| Cross | Idyllic | Serenity |
| Deflated | Inconsolable | Snappy |
| Dejected | Insatiable | Starved |
| Depressed | Inspiration | Tense |
| Destitute | Interest | Touchy |
| Devoid | Irascible | Unattached |
| Devouring | Jittery | Unpredictable |
| Disheartening | Jumpy | Vacant |
| Dispiriting | Lamentable | Volatile |
| Distant | Lighthearted | Voracious |
| Dither | Livid | Whimsical |
| Drained | Lonely | Worried |
| Dyspeptic | Love | Yearning |
Depressed Mood
A depressed mood sends a message of low mood, sadness, or loss of interest in a subject matter.
- Blue
Sara felt blue because her pet had died.
- Dejected
The waiter with the food tray swerved past, leaving us feeling dejected.
- Depressed
Instead of returning to work after getting dressed, he laid back on his bed, worn out and depressed.
- Inconsolable
He’s been inconsolable since he learned of his fiancee’s accident.
- Disheartening
Seeing the opposition score the first penalty points was disheartening.
- Dispiriting
It’s challenging to break free from dictators’ dreary cycle and dispiriting henchmen.
- Hopeless
He keeps pursuing his dreams despite the societal backlash; he’s a hopeless case.
- Pessimistic
Walter’s pessimistic views stopped him from recognizing the best in others.
- Lamentable
The organization has devolved into a lamentable state of inefficiency.
- Mournful
Gradually, Catherine’s hymn changed from joyful praise to a mournful requiem.
- Grim
When things are grim, the best thing to do is to laugh.
- Colorless
Jim’s life turned colorless and dull after the divorce. Check out our list of grammar words.
Anxious Mood
A state of anxiousness described as unease, distress, and doubt.
- Aflutter
The industries are aflutter about the changes in the new tax slabs.
- Antsy
Sara has been antsy all day; she’s waiting for her exam results.
- Dither
Kevin tells Sara to stop dithering and just pick a place to eat.
- On edge
Andrew has been on edge since he discovered he might have a terminal disease.
- Jittery
She is usually calm, but the extra coffee made her all jittery.
- Jumpy
My dogs have been jumpy all evening because of the firecrackers.
- Queasy
The idea of eating meat makes many vegetarians feel queasy.
- Nervous
Jim was nervous before the big trip that could make or break his career.
- Tense
They really don’t like each other; they always make a room feel so tense.
- Worried
He hasn’t returned in two days; everyone’s worried about him.
- Hesitant
Sally is hesitant to try pizza with pineapple toppings.
- Restless
Going through a dark alley always makes women feel restless. Check out this list of essay words.
Irritable Mood
An irritable mood connotes a feeling of agitation, frustration, or annoyance.
- Crabby
Jim has been crabby about every little thing after he broke his leg.
- Touchy
Divorce is still a touchy topic for Amy.
- Miffy
Stop being miffy; it was just a joke!
- Moody
My dog has been moody lately because he’s on a diet.
- Grumpy
Jen always gets grumpy whenever she skips lunch.
- Irascible
My grandfather’s irascible and insults everyone he can see.
- Cross
My mother is cross at me for not finishing my chores before heading out.
- Snappy
A snappy bicycle rider yelled at us for walking outside the sidewalk.
- Cranky
She’s been cranky since this morning because of her period.
- Cantankerous
Dealing with cantankerous animals at the veterinarian wasn’t exactly the best part of his day.
- Dyspeptic
They’ll try to prove he’s dyspeptic in court, but we just have to stick to the evidence.
- Angry
Dave has been arriving late to work so much he got his manager angry.
Empty Mood
Empty mood words illustrate devoid feelings and emotions.
- Aloof
Losing his beloved pet turned Kevin into an aloof neighbor. He rarely gets out anymore.
- Distant
Jen was so lost in her distant thoughts that she forgot to take down the assignment instructions for the winter break.
- Vacant
She had a vacant expression when she decided to leave town and forget everything.
- Unattached
Their parents’ forced bonding made Maria more unattached to her step-siblings.
- Hollow
Her favorite teacher’s departure left her with a hollow feeling.
- Drained
She felt drained after the long flight.
- Numb
After losing everything to the fire, he just wakes up daily feeling numb.
- Devoid
He figures that he needs to be devoid of emotions to protect himself from the rest of the world.
- Blank
He bore a blank expression throughout the meeting. His mind was elsewhere.
- Deflated
Sally felt deflated when her favorite university rejected her application.
- Exhausted
Minda’s just exhausted from everything – she can’t find it in herself even to think.
- Destitute
Financial mismanagement left Jack destitute in his mid-thirties.
Positive Elevated Mood
As its name suggests, these mood words outline festive scenes with positive connotations.
- Excited
Jimmy was excited to go home and play Dungeons and Dragons with his friends.
- Gratitude
Tom always shows his mother gratitude for preparing meals.
- Pride
Selena takes great pride in her long hair.
- Serenity
Jack always finds a sense of serenity when it rains.
- Interest
My daughter has a healthy interest in automotive engineering.
- Amusement
My amusement at Justin falling into the pool was warranted.
- Hope
I hope to be a great painter one day.
- Inspiration
Jonah is always looking for inspiration to fuel his songwriting.
- Awe
Watching his favorite band perform live left Cliff in awe.
- Chuffed
Sonya was chuffed because she could finally attend the concert.
- Love
Sometimes, it feels like George is more in love with food than his wife.
- Enthused
The prospect of spending a week in the woods did not leave Jillian very enthused.
- Euphoric
The band members were euphoric at having won the contest.
- Calm
My grandmother’s calm presence always puts me at ease,
- Cheerful
The room was filled with pictures of happy faces, giving it a cheerful ambiance.
- Humorous
The movie is brilliantly humorous in the best traditions of romantic comedy.
- Idyllic
The crisp summer morning and the cool breeze made an idyllic setting for a day in the park.
- Lighthearted
Despite his diagnosis, he remains lighthearted and unaffected.
- Reflective
The lecture had a reflective undertone, and we were all left thinking about how our actions affect the environment.
- Romantic
Writing letters is one of the most romantic things anyone can do to woo a lover.
- Whimsical
She felt whimsical while shopping and got herself a banana suit.
Negative Elevated Mood
These are opposite to the previous list, portraying somber parts with negative implications.
- Capricious
Monica’s capricious nature is often what gets her into trouble.
- Erratic
The head trauma has left Nigel with erratic tendencies.
- Unpredictable
David has always been unpredictable when angry; you can never expect him to do anything logical in that state.
- Volatile
Jen is going through a rough phase, and her mood swings have become more volatile over the days.
- Emotional
Watching her favorite movie always leaves Margaret in an emotional state; it always moves her to tears.
- Fiery
James has always been fiery; he gets upset and agitated at minor things.
- Neurotic
Jeremy’s neurotic tendencies of constantly washing hands made him the butt end of many mean jokes during school.
- Ornery
Petunia used to be ornery in middle school; you’d frequently find her punished outside the classroom.
- Petulant
Deanna complained to the principal in a fit of petulant rage when her submission got rejected.
- Petrified
Sandra stood petrified when she saw a snake cross her path.
- Livid
Peter was livid when his brother broke his guitar.
- Bitter
Jonah was bitter for weeks after he lost the hundred meters race.
- Fearful
Ghost stories always make Joseph fearful.
- Gloomy
The jungle outside our house has always been very gloomy and dense.
- Lonely
Our cat was feeling lonely, so we decided to bring home a companion for her to play with.
- Melancholy
A melancholy silence followed after the author finished reading his book.
- Mysterious
The detective stayed up all night trying to solve the case of the girl’s mysterious disappearance.
- Ominous
The shadow outside her window wouldn’t budge, and she couldn’t sleep with its ominous presence looming over her.
Hunger State
These words don’t only refer to physical hunger. They are also used to represent passion or intensity.
- Ravenous
It was getting increasingly expensive to keep the pack of ravenous hounds fed and satisfied.
- Famished
The hikers lost their food to a group of famished monkeys.
- Insatiable
The professor has an insatiable thirst for knowledge; he is on his third Ph.D. and looks forward to working on more.
- Gorged
The boy gorged on his steak; he left his home three days ago and hasn’t eaten since.
- Starved
Sara broke down crying in her therapist’s office when she realized she was starved of love and affection.
- Voracious
The rulers had a voracious appetite for land and did not care if their citizens suffered from their constant war-mongering politics.
- Yearning
David finds himself yearning for more money. His salary is not enough to feed his family.
- Avid
Joe is an avid collector of stamps and holds some of the rarest ones.
- Covetous
The politicians were finally exposed for their covetous and corrupt ways.
- Craving
My pregnant wife has strange food cravings in the middle of the night.
- Gormandizing
She is happy to see her partner gormandizing the food she prepared for over eight hours.
- Devouring
Maria is devouring every information she can find about her favorite dinosaur, the quetzalcoatlus.
A fun way to develop your vocabulary is through reading. Here are 13 Mystical Books you can check out today.
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