emotion

American  

[ih-moh-shuhn] / ɪˈmoʊ ʃən /

noun

1. an affective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, hate, or the like, is experienced, as distinguished from cognitive and volitional states of consciousness.

2. any of the feelings of joy, sorrow, fear, hate, love, etc.

3. any strong agitation of the feelings actuated by experiencing love, hate, fear, etc., and usually accompanied by certain physiological changes, as increased heartbeat or respiration, and often overt manifestation, as crying or shaking.

4. an instance of this.

5. something that causes such a reaction.

   the powerful emotion of a great symphony.

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emotion British  

/ ɪˈməʊʃən /

noun

1. any strong feeling, as of joy, sorrow, or fear

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emotion Scientific  

/ ĭ-mō′shən /

1. A psychological state that arises spontaneously rather than through conscious effort and is sometimes accompanied by physiological changes; a feeling.

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Usage

What does emotion mean? An emotion is a spontaneous mental reaction, such as joy, sorrow, hate, and love. Emotions always involve mental activity and sometimes have physical effects on the body, as in She could tell what emotion he was feeling by looking at his face. The word emotion is used generally to refer collectively to these intense feelings or an expression of them, as in The director really wanted to see some emotion from the lead actress. What causes someone’s emotions and how someone feels or expresses their emotions differs from person to person. You and your friend might both feel sad to have failed an important test. Your reaction to your sad emotion might be to cry, while your friend’s reaction might be to shout. The word emotional describes something that is related to emotions, causing an emotion to happen, or easily experiencing emotions. Example: I have a hard time sharing my emotions with people and instead try to appear stoic.

Other Word Forms

• emotionable adjective
• emotionless adjective
• preemotion noun

Etymology

Origin of emotion

First recorded in 1570–80; apparently from Middle French esmotion, from esmovoir “to set in motion, move the feelings,” from Vulgar Latin exmovēre (unrecorded; literary Latin ēmovēre ); e- ¹ ( def. ), move ( def. ), motion ( def. )

Explanation

An emotion is a strong feeling, like the emotion you feel when you see your best friend at the movies with a group of people who cause trouble for you. The word emotion comes from the Middle French word émotion, which means "a (social) moving, stirring, agitation." We feel many different emotions every day, like love, fear, joy and sadness — just to name a few. On its own, emotion means "the expression of feeling," like a musician who plays with great emotion, or an actor whose face conveys emotions, even when he or she is just standing quietly on the stage.

Example Sentences

Singer Shreya Ghosal recalled growing up "listening to her, learning from her, and being in awe of her effortless versatility", adding that she made "every note feel alive, every emotion feel personal".

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026

A few hours later, similar emotion overcame Christians and Jews as the city's holy sites reopened following the truce with Iran.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

"I think when Jeremy spelled Carroll's name .... I think for me that is when I was overwhelmed with emotion and I looked over and Christina was crying," Reid said.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

Even if Early was uncertain in the moment, the result is undeniable: a dizzying, disarming blend of humor and emotion — and one of the year’s boldest performances.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

She wasn’t even afraid of the rusalka; that emotion had been overshadowed by her overwhelming guilt.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Related Words

• affection
• anger
• concern
• desire
• despair
• empathy
• excitement
• feeling
• fervor
• grief
• happiness
• joy
• love
• passion
• pride
• rage
• remorse
• sadness
• sentiment
• shame