adjective
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tending or designed to arouse emotion
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of or characterized by emotion
Usage
Emotional is preferred to emotive when describing a display of emotion: he was given an emotional (not emotive ) welcome
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of emotive
Explanation
Something described as emotive shows feeling. If you consider women more emotive than men, you think that women are more comfortable sharing their feelings than men. While the word emotive is similar to the word emotional, it's important to note that the two aren't interchangeable. Emotive is used with regard to something that makes you have intense feelings rather than just having intense feelings. For example, an emotive conversation will result in getting people's emotions riled up, while an emotional conversation is one in which people go into it with a lot of intense feelings already.
Vocabulary lists containing emotive
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.
Those are not typical sticking points in trade negotiations, but emotive ones in Canada, particularly in the French-speaking eastern province of Quebec, which has long sought to preserve its distinct identity.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
Yet Dean brought a fresh, easy-wearing charm to singles such as the Hot 100 smash “Man I Need,” a Whitney Houston-caliber banger that heralded an artfully emotive record.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
More emotive and more vocal, Djokovic would sometimes receive a hostile reception simply because he had beaten them.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
To Mr. Margouleff, “it was more akin to a wind instrument in that you put your total emotive energy into playing one note, or in our case one event, at a time.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
It was hard to curb my love for the exaggerated gesture and the emotive voice.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
