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

At most, these questions touched on emotional significance and mild separation anxiety. — Pascal Vrticka, Scientific American, 4 Oct. 2026

The candid admission came while Lambert discussed the emotional process of creating a record with the rising country star. — Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026

James Newton Howard Howard composed the emotional finale of the film. — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 3 Oct. 2026

But George’s acts of generosity, and the way that they’re returned with such an emotional punch at the end of the movie, give us a pathway to empathy—to seeing hard times for one of our neighbors as hard times for all of us. — Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 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