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emotion

[ ih-moh-shuh n ]
/ ɪˈmoʊ ʃən /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR emotion ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.
any of the feelings of joy, sorrow, fear, hate, love, etc.
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.
an instance of this.
something that causes such a reaction: the powerful emotion of a great symphony.

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RELATED WORDS

love, shame, anger, sympathy, happiness, concern, sentiment, passion, fervor, remorse, pride, warmth, joy, sorrow, grief, desire, empathy, rage, excitement, sadness

Nearby words

  1. emolument,
  2. emory,
  3. emory oak,
  4. emote,
  5. emoticon,
  6. emotional,
  7. emotional correctness,
  8. emotional deprivation,
  9. emotional disorder,
  10. emotional eating

Origin of emotion

1570–80; apparently < Middle French esmotion, derived on the model of movoir: motion, from esmovoir to set in motion, move the feelings < Vulgar Latin *exmovēre, for Latin ēmovēre; see e-1, move, motion
Related formse·mo·tion·a·ble, adjectivee·mo·tion·less, adjectivepre·e·mo·tion, noun

Synonym study

1. See feeling.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for emotions

British Dictionary definitions for emotions

emotion

/ (ɪˈməʊʃən) /

noun

any strong feeling, as of joy, sorrow, or fear
Derived Formsemotionless, adjective

Word Origin for emotion

C16: from French, from Old French esmovoir to excite, from Latin ēmovēre to disturb, from movēre to move
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
Word Origin and History for emotions

emotion

n.

1570s, "a (social) moving, stirring, agitation," from Middle French émotion (16c.), from Old French emouvoir "stir up" (12c.), from Latin emovere "move out, remove, agitate," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + movere "to move" (see move (v.)). Sense of "strong feeling" is first recorded 1650s; extended to any feeling by 1808.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for emotions

emotion

[ ĭ-mō′shən ]

n.

An intense mental state that arises subjectively rather than through conscious effort and is often accompanied by physiological changes.
Related formse•mo′tion•al adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Science definitions for emotions

emotion

[ ĭ-mō′shən ]

A psychological state that arises spontaneously rather than through conscious effort and is sometimes accompanied by physiological changes; a feeling.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.