Feelings and Emotions Vocabulary

Quick Answer: The basic feelings and emotions vocabulary in English is happy, sad, angry, scared, tired, surprised, excited, worried, nervous and bored. Use -ed adjectives for how a person feels (I'm bored) and -ing adjectives for what causes the feeling (The lesson is boring), and learn each word with its preposition, such as worried about and afraid of.

Key takeaways

• -ed means the feeling, -ing means the cause: I'm interested in art, because art is interesting.
• I'm boring means you make other people bored; say I'm bored.
• With strong adjectives like furious or exhausted, use absolutely or really, not very.
• Key prepositions: afraid of, worried about, proud of, interested in, angry with a person, angry about a situation.
• Say I feel happy, not I feel myself happy (a common mistake for Turkish speakers, from kendimi mutlu hissediyorum).
• Sensitive means easily hurt or emotional; sensible means practical and reasonable.

Basic feelings

Feeling	Example
happy	I'm so happy you're here.
sad	She was sad when her friend moved away.
angry	He's angry because the train was late.
scared / afraid	I'm scared of spiders.
tired	I'm tired after work.
surprised	We were surprised by the news.
excited	The kids are excited about the trip.
worried	I'm worried about my exam.
nervous	I always get nervous before interviews.
bored	I'm bored. Let's do something.
calm	Stay calm and breathe.
hungry / thirsty	I'm really thirsty.

What are stronger words for happy, sad and angry?

English has a scale for many emotions. Using the right one makes you sound more precise.

Weaker	Neutral	Stronger
content, pleased	happy	delighted, thrilled, overjoyed
a bit down	sad	miserable, heartbroken, devastated
annoyed, irritated	angry	furious, livid
uneasy	worried	anxious, frantic
a bit tired	tired	exhausted, worn out
curious	interested	fascinated

Note: with strong adjectives, use absolutely or really, not very. "I'm absolutely exhausted" (not "very exhausted").

More useful emotion words

• relieved - happy because a worry has gone: "I was relieved when the test was over."
• frustrated - annoyed because you cannot do something: "I get frustrated when my laptop is slow."
• embarrassed - uncomfortable because of something you did: "I was embarrassed when I fell."
• jealous - wanting what someone else has: "He's jealous of his brother's car."
• lonely - sad because you are alone
• homesick - missing your home and family
• confused - not understanding
• confident - sure of yourself
• grateful - thankful
• proud - pleased with an achievement: "I'm proud of you."
• disappointed - sad because something was not as good as you hoped
• overwhelmed - feeling there is too much to deal with

False friend alert: "embarrassed" does not mean pregnant. Spanish speakers often confuse it with "embarazada". Every language has traps like this; see false friends between English and Turkish for examples Turkish speakers meet.

Sensitive vs sensible: a sensitive person feels emotions strongly or is easily hurt. A sensible person makes practical, reasonable decisions. "She is very sensitive about her weight" is not the same as "She made a sensible choice."

What is the difference between bored and boring?

This is one of the most common mistakes in English.

• -ed = how a person feels
• -ing = the thing that causes the feeling

-ed (feeling)	-ing (cause)
I'm bored.	The film is boring.
I'm interested in art.	Art is interesting.
She was tired.	The trip was tiring.
We were surprised.	The result was surprising.
He's confused.	The instructions are confusing.
I'm excited.	The news is exciting.
They were embarrassed.	It was an embarrassing moment.

If you say "I'm boring", you are saying that you make other people bored.

Which prepositions go with feelings?

Adjective	Preposition	Example
afraid / scared	of	She's afraid of the dark.
worried / excited	about	I'm excited about the concert.
angry	with or at (a person)	I'm angry with my brother. (at is common in American English)
angry	about (a situation)	She's angry about the delay.
proud	of	We're proud of our team.
interested	in	Are you interested in music?
tired	of	I'm tired of waiting. (fed up)
good / bad	at	He's bad at hiding his feelings.
disappointed	with / by / in	I was disappointed with the hotel.

Useful phrases

• "How are you feeling today?"
• "What's wrong?" / "Is everything okay?"
• "I'm in a good mood / bad mood."
• "I'm feeling a bit down today."
• "It made me feel really happy."
• "I'm fed up with this." (tired and annoyed)
• "I can't wait!" (very excited)
• "That's a relief!"
• "Don't worry, it'll be fine."
• "I know how you feel."

Emotion idioms:

• on cloud nine - extremely happy
• feel blue - feel sad
• butterflies in my stomach - nervous
• lose your temper - become angry

See more in common English idioms.

Common mistakes

Wrong	Right
I'm boring in class.	I'm bored in class.
I'm very furious.	I'm absolutely furious. or I'm really furious.
I'm afraid from dogs.	I'm afraid of dogs.
She's interested about history.	She's interested in history.
I feel myself happy.	I feel happy.
He is very sensible, he cries at films.	He is very sensitive. He cries at films.

Quick quiz

Choose the correct word.

1. The lesson was so ___. I almost fell asleep. (bored / boring)
2. I'm really ___ about my holiday. (exciting / excited)
3. She's afraid ___ flying. (of / from)
4. I was so ___ when I found my lost passport. (relieved / jealous)
5. He felt ___ because he missed his family. (homesick / confident)

Answers: 1. boring 2. excited 3. of 4. relieved 5. homesick

Talking about feelings is a key part of real conversation, from small talk to describing your family. Learn these words with audio and spaced reviews in our free English vocabulary lessons.

People Also Ask

What is the difference between bored and boring?

Bored describes how a person feels: I'm bored. Boring describes the thing or person that causes the feeling: This film is boring. The same rule applies to interested and interesting, tired and tiring.

How do you ask someone how they feel in English?

Ask How are you feeling? or How do you feel about it? For a friend who seems upset, you can ask Are you okay? or What's wrong?

What are some stronger words for happy and sad?

Stronger words for happy include delighted, thrilled and overjoyed. Stronger words for sad include miserable, heartbroken and devastated.

Which prepositions go with feelings?

Common pairs are afraid of, scared of, worried about, excited about, angry with a person, angry about a situation, proud of, interested in and disappointed with or by.

Related Reading

• Family Members Vocabulary
• Common English Idioms and What They Mean
• How to Make Small Talk in English
• False Friends Between English and Turkish