emotion

[ ih-moh-shuhn ]

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.

emotion

/ ɪˈməʊʃən /

noun

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

emotion

/ ĭ-mō′shən /

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

Derived Forms

• eˈmotionless, adjective

Other Words From

• e·motion·a·ble adjective
• e·motion·less adjective
• pree·motion noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of emotion¹

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 )

Word History and Origins

Origin of emotion¹

C16: from French, from Old French esmovoir to excite, from Latin ēmovēre to disturb, from movēre to move

Related Words

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