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

• ardent
• blazing
• burning
• charged
• demonstrative
• fervent
• fervid
• feverish
• fiery
• flaming
• glowing
• hot-blooded
• impassioned
• incandescent
• intense
• passional
• passionate
• perfervid
• red-hot
• religious
• superheated
• torrid
• vehement
• warm
• warm-blooded

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 Italian, playing in her second consecutive grand slam final, dragged the match to a deciding set and fended off two championship points before Krejčíková sealed victory at her third attempt, sparking emotional celebrations. —Issy Ronald, CNN, 13 July 2024

In an emotional interview, Baldwin denied pulling the gun’s trigger. —María Luisa Paúl, Washington Post, 13 July 2024

Kelly is released from training camp in the show’s third episode in what is one of the more emotional training camp cuts. —Nicole Fell, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 July 2024

Last year's All-Star game marked an emotional return for Griner, who missed the 2022 game while detained in Russia. —Jessica Boehm, Axios, 12 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing emotional

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

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