emotional

adjective

emo·​tion·​al i-ˈmō-sh(ə-)nəl How to pronounce emotional (audio)
Synonyms of emotional
1
: of or relating to emotion
an emotional disorder
2
: dominated by or prone to emotion
an emotional person
3
: appealing to or arousing emotion
an emotional sermon
4
: markedly aroused or agitated in feeling or sensibilities
gets emotional at weddings
emotionally
i-ˈmō-sh(ə-)nə-lē How to pronounce emotional (audio)
adverb

Synonyms of emotional

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of emotional in a Sentence

He's a very emotional person. worship at revival meetings often takes a markedly emotional form
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
An epic finale, full of high-stakes drama and emotional scenes. — Anna Moeslein, Glamour, 24 Oct. 2026 Beyond offering scenery, the survey found that these natural settings often serve as private sanctuaries for emotional healing. — Gagandeep Singh, Sacbee.com, 24 Oct. 2026 In an emotional and harrowing interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting published on Friday, Giamanco recalled that fateful day. — David K. Li, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026 This leads to an incredibly emotional scene where Charlie convinces Max to FaceTime the Charlie of this world, who’s away at college, to confirm that his crazy story of dimensional travel is true. — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for emotional

Word History

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of emotional was in 1834

Phrases Containing emotional

Rhymes for emotional

See All Rhymes for emotional

Browse Nearby Words

emotionable
emotional
emotional blackmail
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Emotional.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emotional. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

emotional

adjective
emo·​tion·​al i-ˈmō-shnəl How to pronounce emotional (audio)
-shən-ᵊl
1
: of or relating to the emotions
an emotional upset
2
: likely to show or express emotion : easily moved
an emotional person
3
: causing one to feel emotion
an emotional speech
emotionally
-ē How to pronounce emotional (audio)
adverb
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All