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

However, all of that was about as emotional as a bunch of people standing around waiting for an elevator compared with what happened when Crochet locked eyes with Giolito. —Steve Buckley, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025

Achieving that emotional impact is, according to Cameron, aided rather than hindered by the performance capture technology, which allows for smaller crews on set and greater intimacy with the actors. —Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 1 Oct. 2025

This can manifest itself financially or in terms of your emotional state. —Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025

For George, whisky became an emotional medium, capable of evoking place, story, even voice. —Hali Bey Ramdene, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 Oct. 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