List of Emotions & Feelings: Hundreds of Feeling Words Grouped by Core Emotion
This free list of emotions and feelings groups feeling words by emotion family. Use the printable PDF to describe mixed feelings, journal, or prepare for a conversation.
About this tool
This list of emotions and feelings groups feeling words by emotion family so you can describe what is happening inside. Use the free printable feelings list when broad words like good, bad, fine, or stressed leave you struggling to explain your experience. The families include happy, sad, angry, afraid, ashamed, disgusted, surprised, and calm. A feeling words list can help you distinguish disappointed from betrayed, or nervous from excited. You can use these words in a journal, a conversation, or therapy, and revise your choice when another word feels closer.
Psychologists call the ability to distinguish emotions precisely emotional granularity or emotion differentiation. Kashdan and colleagues reviewed evidence linking this ability with responses to distress and emotion regulation. A related research technique, affect labeling, involves putting feelings into words. In Lieberman and colleagues' 2007 brain-imaging study, labeling negative emotional images was associated with reduced amygdala activity compared with other ways of encoding the images. That laboratory result helps explain interest in naming feelings; it does not establish that reading this list will reliably calm distress or treat a mental health condition.
The list below is organized by a handful of core emotions, with related feelings grouped underneath. It is not exhaustive, and emotions often blend, so you may need more than one word. Use it as a menu: when you feel off, scan for the words that fit, then ask what that specific feeling might be telling you.
Psychologist Robert Plutchik proposed a model of core emotions and their relationships, described in his paper The Nature of Emotions. Models differ in how they organize emotional experience. The families on this page are practical browsing categories, rather than a reproduction of Plutchik's wheel or a definitive scientific classification. Some entries describe sensations, appraisals, or relationship experiences alongside emotion names. You can use that everyday language to begin describing an experience, then explore what feeling sits underneath it. A word can fit across categories depending on context.
A feelings list is a self-reflection aid, not a diagnosis or a substitute for professional care. If naming your emotions still leaves you feeling stuck, or a feeling like sadness, fear, or anger has stayed intense for weeks and is affecting your sleep, work, or relationships, it is worth talking with a therapist. Psychology.com's therapist directory lets you search for one who works with emotion regulation.
After choosing a feeling word, connect it to an observable situation and a possible next step. For example: I felt disappointed when our plans changed; I would like to arrange another time. A label such as betrayed describes your experience, but does not by itself establish what someone intended. The Identifying Emotions Worksheet can help you separate the event, your interpretation, and your response. The Feelings Chart provides another way to find language when scanning lists of emotions feels difficult.
If you feel blank or cannot choose a word, start with what you notice: tense shoulders, heaviness, an urge to withdraw, or a sense of ease. You can write uncertain and return later. Avoid turning the exercise into a vocabulary test or asking someone else to prove that their emotion is correct. The Alexithymia Test offers self-assessment of difficulties identifying and describing feelings; its results can support a conversation with a professional and cannot establish a diagnosis.
Read words such as worthless, defective, or inadequate as descriptions of painful self-judgments, never as facts about your value. You might translate I am worthless into I feel ashamed after that conversation. Similarly, feeling guilty does not establish that you caused harm. If a word makes you judge yourself more harshly, choose a gentler description and write down the situation separately. The aim is to communicate your experience without turning a feeling into a verdict about yourself.
When using a list of feelings with someone else, offer possible words and let that person choose, reject, or change them. You could ask whether disappointed or worried feels closer, then listen to their explanation. Avoid selecting a label from their facial expression alone. In a difficult conversation, a simple sentence such as I feel hurt and would like you to listen can be more useful than finding the most elaborate emotion name.
I've found that being able to name emotions is very helpful for clients. The better you can identify what you're feeling, the easier it can be to take a step back and think about how you want to respond, rather than simply reacting in the moment. A list like this can be especially helpful when you know you're feeling something but aren't quite sure what to call it. Building your emotional vocabulary may seem like a small thing, but can be a big help when it comes to better understanding yourself and your reactions.
References
- Kashdan TB, Barrett LF, McKnight PE. Unpacking emotion differentiation. Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2015;24(1):10-16.
- Lieberman MD, et al. Putting feelings into words: affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity. Psychol Sci. 2007;18(5):421-428.
- Plutchik R. The nature of emotions. Am Sci. 2001;89(4):344-350.
- Lieberman MD, et al. (2007). Putting feelings into words: affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. PubMed record and abstract. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17576282/
Cite this source
Psychology.com. (2026, September 16). List of Emotions & Feelings. Psychology.com. https://psychology.com/tools/list-of-emotions
List of Emotions & Feelings FAQ
Why use a list of emotions?
It expands your emotional vocabulary so you can name what you feel precisely instead of defaulting to good, bad, or fine. Research links emotion differentiation with emotion regulation, although using this list does not guarantee that a difficult feeling will become less intense. This free list of feelings gives you a starting point for journaling or explaining an experience to someone you trust.
How is this list organized?
By a handful of core emotions, with related and more specific feelings grouped underneath each one. Scan the family that fits, then read down to find the most accurate word. These families are browsing aids, so the same word may fit different situations. You can print the free PDF and circle words that feel relevant without completing every category.
What if I feel more than one emotion?
That is normal and very common. Name each one. Mixed feelings, like relief and grief together, are often the most honest description. You might feel excited about a change and frightened by the uncertainty it brings. Write the feelings side by side and consider what each relates to, without forcing yourself to choose a single overall mood.
What do I do once I name the feeling?
Ask what it needs. Sadness often wants comfort, anger often points to a boundary, and anxiety often points to something uncertain that matters to you. Treat those possibilities as prompts rather than fixed meanings. Check the situation, consider what is within your control, and choose a response that is safe and useful. Feeling angry does not require acting on the urge to confront someone.
Is this the same as a feelings wheel?
It covers the same vocabulary in a list rather than a circle. Some people prefer the visual wheel, others prefer scanning a list. Use whichever helps you land on the right word. Both formats can support reflection, and their categories may differ. The printable list of feeling words may be easier to annotate, while a wheel can make neighboring emotions easier to compare.
How many emotions are there, and does this list include them all?
There is no single agreed number, and this is not a list of all emotions. Different theories organize emotion names differently, while everyday language includes feelings, sensations, and interpretations that overlap. This emotions list provides a broad vocabulary grouped for easy browsing. Use whichever words help you describe your experience, including words from your own language or culture that are missing here.