Synonym Chooser

How is the word emotion distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of emotion are affection, feeling, passion, and sentiment. While all these words mean "a subjective response to a person, thing, or situation," emotion carries a strong implication of excitement or agitation but, like feeling, encompasses both positive and negative responses.

the drama portrays the emotions of adolescence

When might affection be a better fit than emotion?

While in some cases nearly identical to emotion, affection applies to feelings that are also inclinations or likings.

a memoir of childhood filled with affection for her family

Where would feeling be a reasonable alternative to emotion?

The meanings of feeling and emotion largely overlap; however, feeling denotes any partly mental, partly physical response marked by pleasure, pain, attraction, or repulsion; it may suggest the mere existence of a response but imply nothing about the nature or intensity of it.

the feelings that once moved me are gone

When is it sensible to use passion instead of emotion?

While the synonyms passion and emotion are close in meaning, passion suggests a very powerful or controlling emotion.

revenge became his ruling passion

When is sentiment a more appropriate choice than emotion?

In some situations, the words sentiment and emotion are roughly equivalent. However, sentiment often implies an emotion inspired by an idea.

her feminist sentiments are well known

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of emotion The investigation explores how AI businesses are increasingly able to manipulate human emotions for profit. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 30 June 2025 Impressions of the week: Designers were more focused on storytelling and emotion. Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 30 June 2025 On a subconscious level, music was a way for her to be understood — a tool to translate the emotions that were too thorny, too big to communicate in regular conversation. Cat Cardenas, Rolling Stone, 30 June 2025 This represents the triumph of emotion over legal reasoning. New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 22 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for emotion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for emotion
Noun
  • What most defines Price’s writing is his dialogue—a precise and comic urban argot that lends his work a credible feeling of immersion and translates well from the page to the screen.
    Kevin Lozano, New Yorker, 6 July 2025
  • Earthy but refined enough to be suited for work, the green fragrance channels feelings of forest bathing through notes of eucalyptus, sage, tonka wood, and violet.
    Jenny Berg, Allure, 6 July 2025
Noun
  • Known for his breakout role in Snowfall, Idris brings intensity, precision, and charisma to a performance that demanded serious physical training, emotional depth, and even some real-life time on the track.
    Okla Jones, Essence, 27 June 2025
  • Yet, in the nearly two years since then, the brutality and intensity of Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip have mobilized opposition around the world.
    Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, The Atlantic, 26 June 2025
Noun
  • In the end, his story struck a chord with many navigating the complexities of blended families.
    Ashley Vega, People.com, 28 June 2025
  • Another collection that has struck a chord with consumers is the Love Knot collection.
    Fairchild Studio, Footwear News, 28 June 2025
Noun
  • Late last week, some influential Democrats were saying that Lamont’s enthusiasm for his chief regulator may have cooled after PURA conceded destruction of the text messages.
    Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 29 June 2025
  • Throughout, the cast of 17 exudes an unmistakable enthusiasm for the material, the onstage electricity radiating up the alpine slopes of the Guthrie’s expansive Wurtele Thrust.
    Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 28 June 2025
Noun
  • This checklist should be thought both in the sense of a weekly or monthly planning and on the actual cleaning time itself.
    Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 1 July 2025
  • The clothes gave the sense that Jacobs and his team must have had a ball coming up with these creations.
    Roxanne Robinson, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
Noun
  • Global visitors can experience the richness, warmth and diversity of U.S. destinations and people.
    Roger Sands, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • Her warmth and humor and affection stayed hidden behind a wall of invulnerability.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 June 2025
Noun
  • Their steadfast passion for making exceptional whisky established the foundation for the distillery's distinguished legacy.
    Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • February 2025 Knight of Wands: The full moon in Leo on February 24 will supercharge your creativity and passion, making this the perfect month to take bold risks in love, art, or personal projects.
    Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 July 2025
Noun
  • The essential element to the group's work, Vu says, is building relationships with young people who may be at risk of committing violence.
    Meg Anderson, NPR, 30 June 2025
  • Police believe the extreme violence in the murder mirrors methods used by trafficking groups to punish their victims.
    Samira Asma-Sadeque, People.com, 30 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Emotion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/emotion. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.

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