Emotional Responses Vocabulary

verb to surround or cover completely

• The flames quickly engulfed the entire building, causing extensive damage.
• The waves engulfed the surfer, sending him tumbling underwater.
• The gossip quickly engulfed the entire school, spreading like wildfire.
• Her overwhelming emotions seemed to engulf her, making it difficult to think clearly.

verb to cause the hairs on the skin to stand up, as from cold, fear, or excitement

• The eerie music caused her skin to horripilate.
• That horror movie made me horripilate all over.
• The creepy story gave me major horripilations.
• The thought of public speaking always makes me horripilate.

adjective causing nausea or disgust; disgusting

• The sight and smell of the rotten food was nauseating.
• I can't eat that, it's absolutely nauseating.
• That movie was so nauseating, I almost threw up.
• The thought of having to work late again was nauseating to him.

verb to react more strongly or emotionally than is necessary or appropriate

• It is important not to overreact to minor setbacks in a professional setting.
• Hey, don't overreact to that small mistake, it's not a big deal.
• Chill out, dude, you're totally overreacting right now.
• She tends to overreact to any criticism, blowing it out of proportion.

verb to return like for like; to repay an injury or wrong

• The country warned it would retaliate against any further aggression.
• If he insults you again, feel free to retaliate.
• Don't worry, I'll clap back and retaliate against them.
• She decided to retaliate by ignoring his calls and messages.

verb past tense of startle, to cause someone to feel sudden shock or alarm

adjective feeling or showing sudden shock or alarm

• The loud noise startled the audience during the symphony performance.
• I was so startled when my cat jumped out from behind the couch.
• She was totally startled when she saw her ex at the party.
• The sudden change in plans startled me, but I quickly adapted.

verb Past tense form of the verb 'surprise', which means to cause someone to feel astonishment or shock.

adjective Describing a feeling of astonishment or disbelief.

• I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of the experiment.
• I was so surprised when I saw her at the party last night!
• I was totally caught off guard, I was surprised as heck!
• The news hit me like a ton of bricks, I was completely surprised.

verb to cause (an event or situation) to happen or exist

adjective affected by a trigger, typically in a negative way

• The loud noise triggered a panic attack in the crowd.
• I get triggered whenever someone mentions spiders.
• She's so triggered by that topic, it's hilarious.
• His words triggered a wave of emotions in her heart.

noun an excessive or exaggerated response to a situation or stimulus

• The company's decision to terminate the employee seemed like an overreaction to the minor mistake.
• Calm down, you're overreacting to the situation.
• Don't freak out, it's just a little overreaction.
• Her emotional outburst was like an overreaction to a small spark.

noun a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea

verb a word that expresses an action or state of being

adjective a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun

adverb a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb

pronoun a word that takes the place of a noun

preposition a word that shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other words in a sentence

conjunction a word that connects words, phrases, or clauses

interjection a word or phrase that expresses strong emotion

• After losing the game, he decided to pick up his marbles and go home.
• If you can't handle losing, just pick up your marbles and go home.
• Don't be a sore loser, just pick up your marbles and go home.
• When faced with criticism, she chose to pick up her marbles and go home rather than confront the issue.