List of Emotions: 140 Feeling Words from Mild to Intense

A list of emotions gives you words for what is going on inside you, so "fine" can become "drained", "uneasy" or "disappointed". Below are 140 feeling words in the eight families Robert Plutchik used for his wheel of emotions, each family sorted from mild to intense. Each family includes an example sentence for sharing a feeling with your partner; the final section covers surprise and mixed feelings.

How many emotions are there?

Researchers count differently, so the answer depends on whom you ask. Paul Ekman's work on facial expressions points to seven universal emotions: anger, contempt, disgust, enjoyment, fear, sadness and surprise (Paul Ekman Group).

Plutchik proposed eight primary emotions arranged in a circle: joy, trust, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger and anticipation (Plutchik, 2001). Each comes in a milder and a stronger form, and neighbors blend into new feelings, the way joy and trust together make love (Semeraro et al., 2021).

A 2017 study took a wider view. Cowen and Keltner collected people's reports of what they felt during 2,185 short videos and found 27 distinct kinds of emotion, with fuzzy boundaries between them rather than sharp lines (Cowen and Keltner, 2017). For everyday use, eight families with shades inside each are enough to find a word that fits.

How to read the list

Each family runs from mild to strong, following the three levels of intensity in Plutchik's model (Semeraro et al., 2021). Mild words fit a passing mood, medium words fit most days, and strong words fit moments that take over your body or your plans.

Intensity changes what the other person should do. "I'm a bit uneasy about Saturday" and "I'm dreading Saturday" are both fear, but the first needs a quick word and the second needs a real talk.

If a long list makes your head spin, start with the family, then pick mild, medium or strong. You can stop there and still say a lot.

Positive emotions

Pleasant feelings deserve words too. In four studies on sharing good news, telling someone about a good event went with more positive days, and people whose partners usually responded with enthusiasm reported more intimacy and satisfaction (Gable et al., 2004).

Happy

Plutchik's scale for joy runs from serenity to joy to ecstasy.

• Mild: content, pleased, glad, serene, comfortable, amused
• Medium: happy, cheerful, joyful, playful, proud, optimistic, confident
• Strong: elated, thrilled, overjoyed, ecstatic, euphoric, blissful

Say it: "I'm proud of how I handled that call today, and I wanted you to hear it first."

Trust

Plutchik's scale runs from acceptance to trust to admiration.

• Mild: accepted, at ease, relaxed, safe, secure
• Medium: trusting, grateful, peaceful, hopeful, close, tender
• Strong: admiring, adoring, devoted, loving, touched

Say it: "I felt really close to you on that walk. Can we do it again on Sunday?"

Anticipation

Plutchik's scale runs from interest to anticipation to vigilance. It can feel like excitement or like pressure, so say which one it is.

• Mild: interested, curious, open, attentive
• Medium: eager, expectant, motivated, restless, stressed
• Strong: excited, keyed up, determined, on high alert

Say it: "I'm restless about the job news. Can we go out tonight so I stop checking my email?"

Negative emotions

"Negative" means unpleasant to feel, not wrong to have. These are the feelings most worth putting into words, because nobody can respond well to a mood they have to guess.

Fear

Plutchik's scale runs from apprehension to fear to terror.

• Mild: uneasy, hesitant, cautious, apprehensive, tense, unsure
• Medium: nervous, worried, anxious, scared, insecure, vulnerable
• Strong: terrified, panicked, petrified, dreading, frantic

Say it: "I feel insecure when plans change at the last minute. Could you text me when they do?"

Sad

Plutchik's scale runs from pensiveness to sadness to grief.

• Mild: low, down, blue, wistful, pensive, homesick
• Medium: sad, lonely, hurt, unhappy, discouraged, ashamed, guilty
• Strong: heartbroken, devastated, grief-stricken, hopeless, miserable, despairing

Say it: "I'm a bit down today and I don't know why yet. I don't need ideas, just company."

If you feel low or hopeless most of the day, nearly every day, for two weeks or more, talk to a doctor or therapist. That is the threshold the US National Institute of Mental Health gives for depression.

Angry

Plutchik's scale runs from annoyance to anger to rage.

• Mild: annoyed, irritated, impatient, grumpy, touchy
• Medium: angry, mad, frustrated, upset, resentful, bitter, jealous
• Strong: furious, enraged, livid, seething, hostile

Say it: "I'm annoyed about the dishes, and it's still small. Can we sort it out before it grows?"

Disgust

Plutchik's scale runs from boredom to disgust to loathing.

• Mild: bored, put off, uncomfortable, squeamish, turned off
• Medium: disgusted, repelled, grossed out, sickened
• Strong: revolted, appalled, loathing, contemptuous

Say it: "That joke at dinner put me off. Can I tell you why?"

Watch for contempt in particular. The Gottman Institute calls it the number one predictor of divorce in its decades of research on couples, so treat it as a sign of resentment that needs a conversation.

Surprise and mixed feelings

Surprise

Plutchik's scale runs from distraction to surprise to amazement. Surprise tips toward delight or toward a letdown, so say which way it went.

• Mild: distracted, puzzled, confused, caught off guard
• Medium: surprised, startled, taken aback, disoriented, disappointed
• Strong: amazed, astonished, stunned, shocked, awestruck

Say it: "I was taken aback when you said yes to the trip. Happily, I just didn't expect it."

Mixed feelings

Many moments hold two feelings at once. Plutchik described blends of neighboring emotions, such as optimism (anticipation and joy) and contempt (anger and disgust), and some of the most useful words name a mix:

• bittersweet, nostalgic, torn, ambivalent, relieved, overwhelmed, numb, drained, embarrassed, envious, awkward, self-conscious

Two words are often truer than one. "Excited and nervous" tells your partner more than either word alone.