This project is ultimately about language as much as it is about emotions. The words we use to describe emotions are not universal, even amongst people speaking the same language, nor are they neutral. Our own histories and experiences with emotions can greatly influence the way we label certain emotional experiences. With that in mind, it may be of benefit to offer Working Definitions of emotions. Note that some words could be used in many ways in differing contexts, so the emphasis here is on the word as an emotional state.
Abandon: A state of relinquished control.
Acceptance: A stance or mindset of deep and open allowance.
Admiration: An appreciative and respectful regard for someone or something.
Alienation: A subtle yet persistent sense of being estranged or out of place, often resulting in emotional detachment and a lack of belonging.
Ambivalence: A calm acceptance or indifference to varying possibilities.
Amusement: Lighthearted enjoyment; carefree recreation or entertainment.
Anger: A strong feeling of displeasure or hostility in response to a perceived wrong.
Angst: Prolonged fearful discomfort in self.
Anguish: An intense and deep-seated pain, blurring the lines between physical and emotional wounds.
Annoyance: A mild irritation or discomfort caused by minor disturbances. Distinct from an Irritation in that one feels angered or wronged by the disturbance rather than hurt.
Anticipation: A nervous state of awaiting an outcome.
Anxiety: Nervous distress at future events, particularly of an unknown or uncertain outcome.
Arousal: A state of stimulation that seeks satisfaction.
Attraction: A strongly felt pull. The object of one’s attraction holds attention and prompts action.
Awe: An intense, reverent admiration that expands perception in its sudden awareness of greatness or a great beyond. Often described as an appreciation of something “bigger than oneself”.
Bewilderment: A sense of amazement that is confounded by questions, suspicion or doubt.
Bitterness: A prolonged, dissatisfied anger that has not been addressed.
Bliss: Supreme satisfaction and joyful calm.
Boredom: A flattened yet upsetting state resulting from a perceived lack of satisfying stimulation or motivating interest.
Burnout: An exhausted state following prolonged stress or overwork without relief.
Calm: A subtle state of balance and pleasant neutrality.
Comfort: A sense of ease and relaxation arising from favorable conditions.
Communion: A state of love that finds resonance with other people, communities or environs; a shared state of love.
Concern: A mild state of worry or unease about (potential) problems. Its subtlety may allow for distinctions of whether the unease is one of emotion or mind.
Confidence: A balanced sense of one’s own capabilities and value.
Confusion: A mild state of mental disarray from input that is too fast, too new, or otherwise difficult to process.
Contempt: Disdain or scorn for someone or something considered inferior or unworthy; Moral superiority and judgment.
Contentment: A steady feeling of ease marked by the absence of desire.
Cool: Blunted appreciation; An emotionally-distant enjoyment.
Craving: A state of urgent or uncomfortable need arising from the sustaining of an unmet desire.
Curiosity: A playful, exploratory state of desire to know or understand.
Cynicism: A defensive state that gives primacy to past failures in assessing future events.
Defensiveness: A stance of self-protection against a real or perceived attack; an aggressive posture adopted under threat or injury.
Denial: A state of strong resistance or refusal to allow something that is factual or actual.
Desire: A powerful, compelling, absorbing urge toward a goal of possession, experience or state.
Despair: A profound sense of hopelessness and isolation.
Depression: A pervading, unrelenting, heavy sorrow. It has a draining, demotivating, and isolating effect, slowing down systems and time.
Detachment: A defensive stance of emotional distance.
Disappointment: A state of discomfort in which one’s high expectations are confronted with modest or no result; Unmet expectations.
Disgust: An intense reaction of aversion or repulsion toward something perceived as strongly offensive, morally wrong, or distasteful.
Ecstasy: A state of divine pleasure and well-being; an ecstatic, immersive pleasure.
Endurance: A state of bearing or sustaining a prolonged, painful hardship; a cultivated or wilful strength to persevere through pain.
Envy: A distorted recognition of greatness that is suppressed and imparted with a desire to control, possess or squelch it.
Excitement: A lively, energized feeling marked by a desirous thrill of uncertainty.
Fascination: A great and active interest in something impactful and impressive but unknown or inexplicable.
Fear: A strong sense of threat or danger; heightened awareness for a perceived threat.
Fervor: An intense, enthusiastic rage.
Frustration: An agitated state from failed efforts and unmet expectations.
Fury: An extreme and uncontrolled state of rage.
Grace: A gentle and patient state of choosing to sculpt acceptance from difficulty and hardship.
Hope: A state of positive orientation toward something desired; placing positive faith or trust into a desired outcome.
Humility: A grounded, earned modesty of one’s accomplishments and position among humanity.
Hurt: A strong sense of pain or woundedness.
Impotence: A sense of futile powerlessness.
Inner-peace: A state of smooth calm and contentment within oneself.
Interest: A pleasing engagement that encourages prolongation, repetition, or expansion.
Intimacy: A vulnerable state of love; A state of love that values openness despite personal risk.
Irritation: A mild discomfort or agitation, provoked by a minor grievance. Distinct from an Annoyance in that one feels wounded by the discomfort rather than angered.
Isolation: A state of apartness; a sense that one is, or should be, essentially alone.
Joy: A vibrant, uplifting sense of happiness and satisfaction. An intense lightness of good humor, warmth and positivity.
Loathing: A revelry in dislike or negative judgment.
Loneliness: A deep feeling of isolation or disconnection from others, even when not physically alone. An unmet longing for meaningful connection.
Lost: The unsettled state of uncertain direction; to find oneself in unnavigably unfamiliar terrain or lacking sufficient bearings to ground an orientation
Love: A deeply felt warmth and affection, distinctly generous in spirit.
Mania: A frenetic, uncontrolled state of nervous, impulsive activity.
Mortalism: A profound sense of one’s human vulnerability and ultimate transience.
Nihilism: A state of adopting a combative stance toward one’s despair, by enshrining hopelessness to an external principle or fact; a pervasive and self-reinforcing state of confidence in meaninglessness.
Optimism: A stance of expecting a favorable outcome.
Outrage: Self-justifying anger; an intense or explosive reaction marked by indignation that disallows for reconciliation under the conditions imposed by the reasons for the anger.
Overwhelm: An intense state where input demands upon a person exceed their capacity, disrupting the ability to function. The state is energetically active, quickly draining resources and exacerbating the person’s inability to process incoming demands.
Panic: An acute state of active, anxious fear.
Patience: A stance of determination to remain calm and at ease despite irritations.
Perfectionism: A dissatisfied state of accomplishment; a stance of unachievable standards with a persistent sense of incompleteness.
Pessimism: A state of alleviating the discomfort of unknown outcomes and the hurt of hope by ascribing certainty to potential negative outcomes.
Playfulness: A good-spirited state of delight in fun, humor, and frolick.
Pleasure: To be satisfied and gratified in an enjoyable way; Enjoyment in having things to one’s liking.
Pride: A highly pleased sense of self; A deep sense of satisfaction and self-respect derived from personal achievement or one’s qualities.
Puzzling: A state of enjoyment in which one’s goals are not immediately reachable; a delightful challenge.
Rapture: An all-consuming state of pleasure that merges the divine and mundane realms.
Relief: The release from some burden, challenge or strain.
Resentment: A state of prolonged, ongoing injuries with insufficient recognition from the attacking party and no clear path to atonement or justice.
Sadness: The feeling of sorrow, emptiness or loss; a profound yet quiet sense that something is ‘wrong’.
Satisfaction: A rewarding contentment after meeting a goal or desire.
Self-righteousness: Over-confidence in one’s own righteousness; a stance of self-satisfied moral superiority over others
Serenity: A peacefulness profoundly pleasing in its smoothness.
Shame: A pained or discomforted feeling around one’s essential being or what one desires.
Smugness: A subtle, self-satisfied attitude of superiority.
Suspicion: A stance that casts doubt or mistrust onto an unknown.
Stoicism: To accept hardship and suffering as an inevitable part of the ongoing ebbs and flows of life. Note: This usage does not refer to the full school of philosophy of Stoicism, but adopts the word as the closest approximation to an emotional state.
Stress: An elevated state of tension in response to pressure or challenging situations. As a heightened reaction, the prolongation of stress response can have deleterious effects on wellbeing, though some find short spurts of stress to be motivating or normalized despite the harm.
Terror: An extreme state of dread and panic, its frenzied intensity may overwhelm efforts of deliberate thought. Frequently accompanied by an innate fear-response, such as “fight, flight or freeze” or “tend and befriend”.
Tolerance: A stance of permission with a distance from acceptance; Passive allowance of something determined to be different or unwished.
Transcendence: An acceptance of grandness and one’s place within it; embracing and joining the incomprehensible and extraordinary.
Triumph: A victorious sense of achievement; a pride-filled sense of accomplishment.
Uncertainty: A state of encountering the unknown or unknowable, the vague or obscured.
Unrest: A state of dissatisfaction with stillness; An impatient or niggling boredom.
Vexation: A sense of anger that is uncertain either about the correctness of the anger or what to be done about it; a nuisance conflict.
Vigilance: An alert state that is militant in its caution.
Vulnerability: An acknowledged fear for one’s person; a profound and decisive openness despite susceptibility to threat or attack.
Wonder: A open, optimistic feeling of fascination and admiration; a delighted curiosity.
Zeal: Overbearing eagerness; A desire with outweighing enthusiasm.