Emotionally

ɪˈmoʊʃənəli

adverbmedium🔥Very CommonEmotion
1 meaning3 idioms/phrases3 questions

Definitions

1

In a manner that expresses or is characterized by emotion.

ɪˈmoʊʃənəli

adverbneutralmedium
Emotion

In a way that relates to or expresses strong feelings.

She reacted emotionally to the news of the accident.

💡 Simply: When you do something in a way that shows your feelings a lot, like crying when you're sad or yelling when you're angry.

👶 For kids: When you do something with your feelings. Like, you hug your mom emotionally.

More Examples

2

He was emotionally attached to his old car.

3

The play was designed to engage the audience emotionally.

4

The situation was handled emotionally, with little rational thought.

How It's Used

Psychology

"Therapists are trained to respond emotionally to their patients' experiences."

Literature

"The author vividly described the scene, drawing the reader in emotionally."

Idioms & expressions

emotionally charged

Full of strong feelings, often of a negative or tense nature.

"The debate became emotionally charged after the controversial statement."

emotionally drained

Feeling exhausted or depleted of energy due to intense emotions or stress.

"After dealing with the crisis, she felt emotionally drained."

emotionally unavailable

Incapable of, or unwilling to, form a close relationship.

"He has been emotionally unavailable since the loss of his wife."

From 'emotion' + '-ally'. 'Emotion' derives from the French 'émotion' and Latin 'emotio' meaning 'a moving out'. The suffix '-ally' indicates a manner or degree.

Used since the mid-19th century, coinciding with the growth of psychological studies and the exploration of feelings.

Memory tip

Think of 'motion' inside 'emotionally' - it describes how feelings 'move' or affect us.

Word Origin

LanguageLatin and French
Original meaning

"a moving out; an act of expressing feelings"

emotionally chargedemotionally drainedemotionally unavailableemotionally attachedreact emotionally

Common misspellings

emotinallyemotionly

Usage

60%Spoken
40%Written