Lexicon: Words for Feelings
This lexicon is an alphabetical glossary of emotional and feeling-related terms — particularly valuable for people with alexithymia who may struggle to identify and articulate emotional experiences. Each entry includes a definition, etymology where useful, citation, and a notable quote.
For broader emotion theory and frameworks (Plutchik's Wheel, Ekman's basic emotions, Spinoza, Darwin, Brené Brown's vulnerability work, Wilcox's Feeling Wheel, Damasio's somatic markers), see Emotion Frameworks.
This lexicon is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license for the AAN community.
Alphabetical Index
A-F: Affect • Alexithymia • Ambivalence • Anger • Anticipation • Arousal • Catharsis • Disgust • Emotion • Emotional Granularity • Emotional Intensity • Empathy • Fear • Feeling
G-M: Happiness • Hope • Hygge • Interoception • Intensity • Joy • Metacognition • Mindfulness
N-S: Nostalgia • Passion • Sadness • Saudade • Shame • Somatic Markers • Surprise
T-Z: Trust • Valence • Vulnerability
Core Psychological Concepts
Alexithymia
Definition: A psychological trait characterized by difficulty identifying, describing, and expressing emotions.
Etymology: From Greek: a- (without) + lexis (words) + thymos (emotion) — "without words for emotions."
Coined by: Peter Sifneos (1973). See Sifneos for the original work.
Wikipedia: Alexithymia
"Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by the subclinical inability to identify and describe emotions experienced by one's self." — Taylor, Bagby, & Parker (1997)
Affect
Definition: The observable expression of emotion; the outward manifestation of feeling.
Etymology: From Latin affectus, meaning "influenced" or "moved."
Wikipedia: Affect (psychology)
"Affect is the visible reaction a person displays toward events." — American Psychiatric Association
Ambivalence
Definition: Holding mixed or contradictory feelings about something or someone simultaneously.
Etymology: Coined by Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler (1910) from Latin ambi- (both) + valentia (strength).
Wikipedia: Ambivalence
"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function." — F. Scott Fitzgerald
Catharsis
Definition: The process of releasing and providing relief from strong or repressed emotions.
Etymology: From Greek katharsis, meaning "purification" or "cleansing."
Introduced to psychology by: Sigmund Freud and Josef Breuer (1895).
Wikipedia: Catharsis
"The aim of psychoanalysis is to relieve people of their neurotic unhappiness so that they can be normally unhappy." — Sigmund Freud
Emotion
Definition: A complex psychological state involving physiological arousal, expressive behavior, and conscious experience.
Etymology: From Latin emovere, meaning "to move out" or "to stir up."
Wikipedia: Emotion
"Emotions are not luxuries. They are a means of communicating our states of mind to others." — Antonio Damasio
Emotional Granularity
Definition: The ability to distinguish between similar emotions and use precise emotional vocabulary.
Research: Lisa Feldman Barrett and colleagues (1990s–present).
Wikipedia: Emotional Granularity
"People who can distinguish finely between their emotions are better at regulating them." — Lisa Feldman Barrett
Empathy
Definition: The ability to understand and share another person's feelings.
Etymology: From German Einfühlung, translated by psychologist Edward Titchener (1909).
Wikipedia: Empathy
"Empathy is about finding echoes of another person in yourself." — Mohsin Hamid
Feeling
Definition: The subjective, conscious experience of an emotion.
Etymology: From Old English felan, meaning "to touch" or "to perceive."
Wikipedia: Feeling
"Feelings are something you have; not something you are." — Shannon L. Alder
Interoception
Definition: The sense of the internal state of the body — awareness of bodily signals such as heartbeat, breath, hunger, temperature.
Etymology: Coined by Charles Sherrington (1906) from Latin interus (inside) + capere (to take).
Relevance to alexithymia: Reduced interoceptive accuracy is a common correlate of alexithymia; bodily signals are present but not reliably accessible to conscious feeling.
Wikipedia: Interoception
"Interoception is the sense that allows us to answer the question: How do I feel right now?" — Antonio Damasio
Metacognition
Definition: Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes — "thinking about thinking."
Etymology: Coined by John Flavell (1976) from Greek meta (beyond) + Latin cognitio (thinking).
Wikipedia: Metacognition
"Metacognition is the awareness of one's awareness." — John Flavell
Mindfulness
Definition: Purposeful, non-judgmental awareness of the present moment.
Etymology: From Pali sati, translated as "mindfulness" by T.W. Rhys Davids (1881).
Wikipedia: Mindfulness
"Mindfulness is about being fully awake in our lives. It is about perceiving the exquisite vividness of each moment." — Jon Kabat-Zinn
Somatic Markers
Definition: Bodily signals that influence decision-making by tagging options as desirable or aversive ahead of conscious deliberation.
Developer: Antonio Damasio (1994). See Emotion Frameworks.
Wikipedia: Somatic Marker Hypothesis
"The body provides a continuous stream of information that helps guide our decisions." — Antonio Damasio
Valence
Definition: The intrinsic attractiveness (positive valence) or aversiveness (negative valence) of an emotion or experience.
Etymology: From Latin valentia, meaning "strength" or "capacity."
Research: Core dimension in dimensional models of emotion (Russell, 1980).
Wikipedia: Valence (psychology)
"Valence tells us whether we should approach or avoid something." — James Russell
Arousal
Definition: The physiological and psychological state of being awake, alert, and activated; the intensity dimension of emotion.
Etymology: From Old French arouser, meaning "to stir up" or "to awaken."
Wikipedia: Arousal
"Arousal determines how energized we feel about our emotional experience." — Lisa Feldman Barrett
Emotional Intensity
Definition: The strength or magnitude of an emotional experience.
Etymology: From Latin intensus, meaning "stretched" or "strained."
"The intensity of emotion often matters more than the emotion itself." — Daniel Goleman
Intensity
Definition: The degree of strength, force, or concentration of an experience or feeling.
Etymology: From Latin intensus, meaning "stretched tight."
"It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves." — Sir Edmund Hillary
Vulnerability
Definition: Uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure; the willingness to show up authentically.
Research: Brené Brown (2010s onward). See Emotion Frameworks.
"Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change." — Brené Brown
Basic Emotions
Anger
Definition: An intense emotional response to perceived threats, injustice, or frustration.
Etymology: From Old Norse angr, meaning "grief" or "sorrow."
Wikipedia: Anger
"Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured." — Mark Twain
Anticipation
Definition: Looking forward — expectation of future events.
Etymology: From Latin anticipare, meaning "to take before."
Wikipedia: Anticipation
"The anticipation of pleasure is, in itself, a very considerable pleasure." — David Hume
Disgust
Definition: Revulsion or strong disapproval aroused by something unpleasant.
Etymology: From Old French desgouster, meaning "to lose one's appetite."
Wikipedia: Disgust
"Disgust is one of the basic emotions, and it serves to protect us from contamination." — Paul Rozin
Fear
Definition: An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous.
Etymology: From Old English fær, meaning "sudden calamity" or "danger."
Wikipedia: Fear
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." — Franklin D. Roosevelt
Happiness
Definition: A positive emotional state characterized by joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment.
Etymology: From Middle English hap, meaning "chance" or "fortune."
Wikipedia: Happiness
"Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions." — Dalai Lama
Hope
Definition: Expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen; optimism about future possibilities.
Etymology: From Old English hopian, meaning "to wish" or "to expect."
Research: Central to positive psychology and resilience research.
Wikipedia: Hope
"Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness." — Desmond Tutu
Joy
Definition: Great pleasure and happiness; intense positive emotion.
Etymology: From Old French joie, from Latin gaudium, meaning "rejoicing."
Wikipedia: Joy
"Joy is not in things; it is in us." — Richard Wagner
Passion
Definition: Strong and barely controllable emotion; intense enthusiasm or desire.
Etymology: From Latin passio, meaning "suffering" or "enduring."
Wikipedia: Passion
"Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you." — Oprah Winfrey
Sadness
Definition: An emotional state characterized by feelings of disappointment, grief, or sorrow.
Etymology: From Old English sæd, originally meaning "satisfied" or "weary."
Wikipedia: Sadness
"Sadness flies away on the wings of time." — Jean de La Fontaine
Shame
Definition: A painful feeling of humiliation or distress arising from consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior.
Etymology: From Old English scamu, meaning "feeling of guilt."
Research: See Brené Brown's shame-resilience work in Emotion Frameworks.
Wikipedia: Shame
"Shame corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change." — Brené Brown
Surprise
Definition: A brief mental and physiological state caused by something unexpected.
Etymology: From Old French surprendre, meaning "to overtake."
Wikipedia: Surprise (emotion)
"The secret to humor is surprise." — Aristotle
Trust
Definition: Confidence in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something.
Etymology: From Old Norse traust, meaning "confidence."
Wikipedia: Trust
"Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication." — Stephen Covey
Cultural and Untranslatable Terms
Hygge
Definition: A Danish concept of coziness, comfort, and contentment.
Etymology: From Danish, related to Norwegian hugga (to comfort).
Cultural origin: Danish culture.
Wikipedia: Hygge
"Hygge is about an atmosphere and an experience, rather than about things." — Meik Wiking
Nostalgia
Definition: Sentimental longing for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.
Etymology: Coined by Swiss physician Johannes Hofer (1688) from Greek nostos (homecoming) + algos (pain).
Wikipedia: Nostalgia
"Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days." — Doug Larson
Saudade
Definition: A Portuguese and Galician term describing a deep emotional state of longing for something or someone absent.
Etymology: From Portuguese, possibly from Latin solitas (solitude).
Cultural origin: Portuguese and Galician cultures.
Wikipedia: Saudade
"Saudade is the love that remains after someone is gone." — Portuguese proverb
Vocabulary Reference
The following lists are vocabulary aids — broad word banks for finding the right word when one isn't coming.
Intensity descriptors
Low intensity: slight, mild, faint, subtle, gentle, soft, light, weak, minimal, trace, hint, touch, whisper, barely, somewhat
Moderate intensity: moderate, medium, average, typical, standard, normal, regular, usual, fair, reasonable, balanced, steady
High intensity: intense, strong, powerful, overwhelming, extreme, severe, profound, deep, acute, sharp, fierce, violent, crushing, devastating
Valence descriptors
Positive valence: pleasant, agreeable, enjoyable, delightful, wonderful, marvelous, excellent, fantastic, terrific, great, good, nice, fine, lovely, beautiful
Negative valence: unpleasant, disagreeable, awful, terrible, horrible, dreadful, appalling, disgusting, revolting, bad, poor, nasty, ugly, disturbing
Neutral valence: neutral, indifferent, bland, plain, ordinary, average, unremarkable, neither good nor bad, balanced, even, steady
Browse all feeling words
For framework-specific intensity-keyed vocabularies (Plutchik's eight families, Wilcox's Feeling Wheel branches), see those researchers' pages — Plutchik and Wilcox — where the full vocabulary appears in context.
References and Sources
All definitions, etymologies, and quotes have been compiled from reliable academic and cultural sources. For complete citations and additional resources, see the Resources page.
This lexicon is continuously updated. If you have suggestions for additional terms or corrections, please contact us.