Feelings Vocabulary
Grow your emotional vocabulary with a big list of emotions sorted into five families, and practice trading vague words like fine or bad for names that actually fit.
Why the right word matters
When something's wrong, most of us reach for the same few words: fine, stressed, bad, tired. Yet the more precisely you can name what you're feeling, the less it runs you - a feeling with an accurate name is easier to understand, easier to talk about, and easier to settle. Precision also points to what you need next. Overwhelmed asks for a shorter list; lonely asks for a phone call; resentful asks for a boundary. Bad asks for nothing, because it hasn't told you anything.
How to use these menus
Below are five families of feeling words. Move through each list slowly and check every word you can remember feeling at some point in the past week - not just today. There's no prize for checking many or few. As you go, notice which family collects the most checks, and which words you'd never think to say but instantly recognize. Those recognized-but-never-used words are the ones worth keeping.
The mad family
Anger comes in many strengths and flavors. Check every one you've felt in the past week.
The sad family
Sadness shows up wherever something matters and is missing. Check every one you've felt in the past week.
The scared family
Fear runs from a flicker of doubt to full alarm. Check every one you've felt in the past week.
The glad family
Pleasant feelings deserve precise names too - naming a good feeling helps it register and last. Check every one you've felt in the past week.
The in-between family
Some feelings don't fit neatly in one family, and a few of them can visit at once. Check every one you've felt in the past week.
Name today precisely
Using words from the menus - or sharper ones of your own - name what you're feeling right now in two or three words. Notice how different this feels from saying fine or bad.
Reflect
Look back over your checked words. Which family collected the most, and does that match the week you've actually had? Pick two words you want to start using, and put each into a sentence: I felt ___ when ___. A word becomes yours the first time you use it in a sentence about your own life.
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