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 of emotional

• 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

The fate of this family is at the heart of the film’s emotional palette. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 27 Sep. 2026

The pitcher got emotional as Genevieve ran out wearing a Tigers jersey with her dad’s name and number. — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2026

The Aries Full Moon illuminates your domestic 4th house, bringing a family matter, living situation, or question of emotional security into clearer focus. — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 26 Sep. 2026

Taking on something this scary freed up a lot of emotional bandwidth. — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 26 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing emotional

• emotional blackmail
• emotional intelligence
• emotional quotient
• emotional support animal
• 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