Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Emotion

E-mo′tion

,
Noun.
[L.
emovere
,
emotum
, to remove, shake, stir up;
e
out +
movere
to move: cf. F.
émotion
. See
Move
, and cf.
Emmove
.]
A moving of the mind or soul; excitement of the feelings, whether pleasing or painful; disturbance or agitation of mind caused by a specific exciting cause and manifested by some sensible effect on the body.
How different the
emotions
between departure and return!
W. Irving.
Syn. – Feeling; agitation; tremor; trepidation; perturbation; passion; excitement.
Emotion
,
Feeling
,
Agitation
. Feeling is the weaker term, and may be of the body or the mind. Emotion is of the mind alone, being the excited action of some inward susceptibility or feeling;
as, an
emotion
of pity, terror, etc.
Agitation may be bodily or mental, and usually arises in the latter case from a vehement struggle between contending desires or emotions. See
Passion
. “Agitations have but one character, viz., that of violence; emotions vary with the objects that awaken them. There are emotions either of tenderness or anger, either gentle or strong, either painful or pleasing.”
Crabb.

Webster 1828 Edition


Emotion

EMO'TION

,
Noun.
[L. emotio; emoveo, to move from.]
1.
Literally, a moving of the mind or soul; hence,any agitation of mind or excitement of sensibility.
2.
In a philosophical sense, an internal motion or agitation of the mind which passes away without desire; when desire follows, the motion or agitation is called a passion.
3.
Passion is the sensible effect, the feeling to which the mind is subjected,when an object of importance suddenly and imperiously demands its attention. The state of absolute passiveness, in consequence of any sudden percussion of mind, is of short duration. The strong impression, or vivid sensation, immediately produces a reaction correspondent to its nature, either to appropriate and enjoy, or avoid and repel the exciting cause. This reaction is very properly distinguished by the term emotion.
Emotions therefore, according to the genuine signification of the word, are principally and primarily applicable to the sensible changes and visible effects, which particular passions produce on the frame, in consequence of this reaction, or particular agitation of mind.

Definition 2024


Emotion

Emotion

See also: emotion and émotion

German

Noun

Emotion f (genitive Emotion, plural Emotionen)

  1. emotion

Synonyms

emotion

emotion

See also: Emotion and émotion

English

Noun

emotion (countable and uncountable, plural emotions)

  1. A person's internal state of being and involuntary physiological response to an object or a situation, based on or tied to physical state and sensory data.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 5, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights, […], the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength—all these things seemed to have their part as causes of the thrilling emotion that accompanied his thoughts.
  2. A reaction by a non-human organism with behavioral and physiological elements similar to a person's response.

Derived terms

Synonyms

Translations