EMOTION FAMILIES
Be sure to add any other emotions you think of to the emotion families below in order to keep building your emotion word bank!
She feels…
FEAR
Purpose: Helps Keep Your Character Safe
Helps keep your reader engaged and fearing for your character on their journey
Anxiety/Anxious
Apprehension/Apprehensive
Dread
Edginess/Edgy
Fear/fearful
Frightened
Horror/horrified
Hysteria/hysterical
Jumpy
Nervous
Overwhelmed
Panicked
Shocked
Stressed
Tense
Terrified
Uneasy
Worried
ANGER
Purpose: Helps Us Protect What We Value while providing a response to a perceived injustice or wrong. Makes your character either a bully, an antagonist, or a hero sticking up for others or themselves.
Angered
Aggravation/aggravated
Agitation/agitated
Annoyance/annoyed
Bitterness/bitter
Exasperation/exasperated
Frustration/frustrated
Fury/infuriated
Grouchiness/grouchy
Hostility/hostile
Indignation/indignant
Irritation/irritated
Outrage/outraged
Rage/enraged
Vengeful
Wrath/wrathful
SADNESS
Purpose: Tells Us There Is a Gap Between What Your Character Wants (or Expected) and What Is. We empathize with the character and their sadness, wishing well for them.
Agony/agonized
Alienation/alienated
Alone/lonely
Anguish/anguished
Crushed
Defeat/defeated
Dejection/dejected
Depression
Despair/despairing
Disappointment/
disappointed
Disconnect/
disconnected
Discontent/
discontentment
Dismay/dismayed
Displeasure
Distraught
Gloom/gloomy
Glum
Grief/grief-stricken
Homesick
Hurt
Insecure
Melancholic
Misery/miserable
Neglect/neglected
Pity/pitied
Rejection/rejected
Regret/regretful
Sad/sadness
Sorrow/sorrowful
Suffering
Unhappiness/
unhappy
Woe/woeful
GUILT
Purpose:Your Character is Conflicted Between Choices She’s Made and What Her Values Are
Apologetic/apologizing
Culpability/culpable
Guilt/guilty/guilt-stricken
Regret/regretful
Remorse/remorseful
Sorry
SHAME
Purpose:Your Character is Conflicted Because He Has Made Choices That Contradict Others’ and Social Values
Culpability/culpable
Contrition/contrite
Discomposed
Embarrassment/embarrassed
Humiliation/humiliated
Mortification/mortified
Shame/shamed/shameful
Sorry
DISGUST
Purpose:Your Character Experiences a Negative Response to Something Against Their Values, or Something Perceived as Gross
Antipathy
Aversion
Condescension/
condescending
Contempt/
contemptuous
Derision
Disdain/disdained/
disdainful
Disgust/disgusted
Dislike/disliked
Distaste/distasteful
Hate/hatred
Loathing/loathed
Repulsion/repelled
Resentment/resented/
resentful
Revulsion/repulsed
Scorn/scorned/scornful
Sickened
Spite/spited/spiteful
Vile/vilified
ENVY
Purpose:Your Character Envies Others Who Have Things or Qualities Your Character Values or Needs
Bitter/Bitterness
Covetous/coveted
Craving
Discontent/discontented
Disgruntled
Displeasure/displeased
Dissatisfication/dissatisfied
Envy/envied/envious
Greed/greedy
"Green-eyed"
Longing
Petty/pettiness
Resentment/resented/resentful
Wishful
JEALOUSY
Purpose: Your Character is Fearful of Losing or Not Having Importance to Someone Else
Clingy
Defensive
Jealous/jealousy
Mistrustful/mistrusted
Possessive
Rivalry/rivalrous
Self-protective/self
Suspicious
Watchful
Desiring/desirous
HAPPINESS
Purpose:Your Character Experiences Really Positive Feelings in Response to Attaining Their Goals, Being Aligned With Their Values, Or Experiencing Pleasure on a Spectrum From Content to Estatic.
Amusement/amused
Bliss/blissed/blissful
Cheerful/cheery
Contentment/content
Delight/delighted
Eager/eagerness
Ecstasy/ecstatic
Elation/elated
Joy/enjoyment/joyful
Enthralled
Enthusiasm/
enthusiastic
Euphoria/euphoric
Excitement/excited
Exhilaration/exhilarated
Glad/gladness
Glee/gleeful
Happiness/happy
Hopeful
Jolliness/jolly
Joviality/jovial
Joy/joyful
Jubilation/jubilant
Optimism/optimistic
Pleasure
Pride/proud
Rapture/enraptured
Relief/relieved
Satisfaction/satisfied
Thrilled
Triumphant
Zaniness/zany
Zeal/zealous
Zest/zest
LOVE
Purpose:Your Character Experiences Happiness in Relation to Other People, Animals, or Things. It can also be on a spectrum from fondness to adoration.
Adoration/adored
Adulation/idolized
Affection/affectionate
Arousal/aroused
Attraction/attracted
Caring
Charmed/charming
Compassion/compassionate
Desire/desirous
Empathy/empathetic
Enchanted
Fond
Infatuation/infatuated
Kindness
Liked
Longing
Loved
Lust/lustful
Passion/passionate
Sentimental
Sympathy/sympathetic
Tender/tenderness
Warmth
Some of these emotions may cross families—for example, longing could be envy, jealousy, or love. So feel free to use them wherever you need in a mindful way.