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Synonyms

emotional

American  
[ih-moh-shuh-nl] / ɪˈmoʊ ʃə nl /

adjective

  1. pertaining to or involving emotion or the emotions.

  2. subject to or easily affected by emotion.

    We are an emotional family, given to demonstrations of affection.

    Synonyms:
    sentimental, demonstrative, effusive, temperamental
    Antonyms:
    inexpressive, unsentimental, undemonstrative
  3. appealing to the emotions.

    an emotional request for contributions.

  4. showing or revealing very strong emotions.

    an emotional scene in a play.

  5. actuated, effected, or determined by emotion rather than reason.

    An emotional decision is often a wrong decision.

  6. governed by emotion.

    He is in a highly emotional state of mind.


emotional British  
/ ɪˈməʊʃənəl /

adjective

  1. of, characteristic of, or expressive of emotion

  2. readily or excessively affected by emotion

  3. appealing to or arousing emotion

    an emotional piece of music

  4. caused, determined, or actuated by emotion rather than reason

    an emotional argument

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • emotionality noun
  • emotionally adverb
  • hyperemotional adjective
  • hyperemotionally adverb
  • nonemotional adjective
  • nonemotionally adverb
  • overemotional adjective
  • overemotionally adverb
  • preemotional adjective
  • preemotionally adverb
  • pseudoemotional adjective
  • pseudoemotionally adverb
  • quasi-emotional adjective
  • quasi-emotionally adverb
  • semiemotional adjective
  • semiemotionally adverb
  • unemotional adjective
  • unemotionally adverb

Etymology

Origin of emotional

First recorded in 1840–50; emotion + -al 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The actor casts himself as a moral corrective on screen and in politics, drawing an emotional, almost devotional loyalty rather than debate.

From BBC

It's an apparently gentle tale of small-town life, but Sheen says the emotional impact of it is "like being woken up".

From BBC

He plumbs the lives of the family of William Henry Seward, one of the most consequential political men of pre-Civil War America, with a searching eye to the texture of their emotional world.

From The Wall Street Journal

These include emotional response, mood regulation, social bonding, physical movement such as dancing, and the desire to seek out or collect new musical experiences.

From Science Daily

Siranni said he loved Brown and that the two had an emotional relationship in which they laughed, cried and yelled at each other.

From The Wall Street Journal