emotional

adjective

emo·​tion·​al i-ˈmō-sh(ə-)nəl 

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 

adverb

Synonyms

• passionate
• passional
• warm
• intense
• religious
• fervent
• demonstrative

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

But just like the men who understood changing a diaper in the 1990s didn't take away their manliness, so can participating in their spouse's emotional needs. —Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025

Public Investigator looks into the legal protections and qualifications for emotional support animals in Wisconsin. —Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 4 Sep. 2025

After an hour of jury deliberation, Cardi was cleared on allegations of assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, as well as negligence and false imprisonment. —Jessica Bennett, VIBE.com, 3 Sep. 2025

In the final episode, Sylvia experiences an emotional crisis as someone close to her suffers a violent death, and Adam returns, injured and in danger, to ask for Sylvia’s help, and test her loyalties to the limit. —Peter White, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing emotional

• emotional blackmail
• emotional intelligence
• emotional quotient
• hyper-emotional

Rhymes for emotional

• devotional
• promotional
• motional
• notional
• unemotional

Kids Definition

emotional

adjective

emo·​tion·​al i-ˈmō-shnəl 

-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 

adverb