The A-Z of English words that describe emotions.
A
angry: “She was angry with her boss for criticising her work.”
annoyed: “I’m very annoyed with him. He hasn’t returned any of my calls.”
“She was annoyed by his comments.”
appalled = very shocked: “They were appalled to hear that they would lose their jobs.”
apprehensive = slightly worried: “I felt a little apprehensive before my interview.”
ashamed: “How could you say such a thing? You should be ashamed of yourself!”
at the end of your tether = completely fed up: “The children have been misbehaving all day - I’m at the end of my tether.”
B
bewildered = very confused: “He was bewildered by the choice of computers in the shop.”
betrayed = when someone breaks the trust you have in them: “He betrayed my trust when he repeated my secret to everyone.”
C
confused: “I’m sorry I forgot your birthday - I was confused about the dates.”
confident = sure of your abilities: “I’m confident that we can find a solution to this problem.”
cheated = when you don’t get something that you think you deserve: “Of course I feel cheated - I should have won that competition.”
cross = quite angry: “I was cross with him for not helping me, as he said he would.”
D
depressed = very sad: “After he failed his English exam, he was depressed for a week.”
delighted = very happy: “I’m delighted that I got the job. It’s just what I always wanted.”
down in the dumps = sad and fed up: “What’s the matter with him? He’s so down in the dumps these days.”
disappointed: “She was disappointed by her son’s poor results at school.”
E
ecstatic = extremely happy: “When he asked her to marry him she was ecstatic.”
excited: “I’m excited by the new opportunities that the internet brings.”
emotional = you have strong feelings (happy or sad) and you cry: “When he heard the news, he became quite emotional.”
envious = when you want something that someone else has: “I’m very envious of her happiness - I wish I was happy too.”
embarrassed = slightly ashamed: “I felt so embarrassed that I went bright red.”
F
furious =very angry: “I was furious with him for breaking my favourite vase.”
frightened: “As a child she was frightened of the dark.”
G
great = very good: “I feel great today!”
H
happy: “She was happy to hear the good news.”
horrified = very shocked: “I’m horrified by the amount of violence on television today.”
I
irritated = annoyed: “I get so irritated when he changes TV channels without asking me first.”
intrigued = being so interested in something you have to find out more: “I’m intrigued to hear about your safari in Kenya.”
J
jealous = envious: “She was jealous of her sister’s new toy.”
jaded = tired and having no interest: “After 10 years at this company, I just feel jaded.”
K
keen: “I’m keen to see your new house - I’ve heard lots about it.”
“I’m keen on keeping fit.”
L
lazy: “I can’t be bothered to do anything today - I feel really lazy!”
lucky: “I’m going to play the lottery - I feel lucky today!”
let down = disappointed: “When you didn’t turn up to the meeting, I felt really let down.”
M
maternal = feeling like a mother: “Looking at my sister’s new baby made me feel really maternal.”
N
nonplussed = so surprised that you don’t know what to do next: “I was so nonplussed by his announcement that I couldn’t say anything.”
negative = when you can only see the disadvantages: “I feel very negative about my job - the pay is awful.”
O
overwhelmed = so much emotion that you don’t know what to say or do: “I was overwhelmed by the offer of promotion at work.”
over the moon = delighted: “She was over the moon with her new bicycle and rode it every day for a whole year.”
P
positive = opposite of negative - seeing the good side of something: “She’s a very positive person and never lets anything get her down.”
positive = very sure: “Are you sure that’s what you want? Yes - I’m positive.”
R
relaxed: “I was completely relaxed after I came back from holiday.”
reluctant = when you don’t want to do something: “I’m reluctant to buy a new car - the one we have is fine.”
S
seething = extremely angry, but hiding it: “She was seething after her boss criticised her.”
sad: “It makes me sad to see all those animals in cages at the zoo.”
scared = frightened: “Are you scared of heights?”
stressed = being worried or anxious about something so you can’t relax: “I feel really stressed at work - I need a break.”
“He was stressed out by all the travelling in his job.”
T
terrific = fantastic: “I feel terrific today!”
terrible = ill or tired: “I’ve got a blinding headache and I feel terrible.”
terrified = very scared: “She’s terrified of spiders and screams whenever she sees one.”
tense = not relaxed: “You look a bit tense. Did you have a bad day at work?”
U
upset = angry or unhappy: “I’m sorry you’re upset - I didn’t mean to be rude.”
unhappy = sad: “I was unhappy to hear that I hadn’t got the job.”
V
victimised = to feel you are the victim of someone or something: “My boss kept criticising me and not the others, so I felt quite victimised.”
W
wonderful = great: “I felt wonderful after such a relaxing weekend.”
