English phrasal verbs for emotions

**Note: the phrasal verbs are below the content.

1. Conceptual metaphor theory: According to this linguistic theory, people understand abstract concepts, like emotions, through more concrete experiences, like physical motion. Verbs like “fall” (in love), “rise” (in anger), or “sink” (into despair) help convey emotional states by linking them to familiar physical actions. This makes complex emotional experiences more relatable and understandable.
2. Emotional intensity: Phrasal verbs for emotions can convey the intensity or change in emotion. For instance, “bursting with joy” or “overwhelmed by grief” clearly communicates not just the emotion but its strength or sudden change, which static adjectives might not convey as effectively.
3. Expressiveness and vividness: Using travel or motion verbs to describe emotions adds a layer of expressiveness and vividness to language. Saying someone “spiraled into depression” paints a more dynamic picture than simply saying they “became depressed.”
4. Language evolution: Over time, these metaphors can evolve or become fixed expressions in language, contributing to its richness and flexibility. They allow for new ways of expressing old feelings or for creating new emotional expressions altogether. Remember, English is a living language and changes over time. At times, you will find words used in manners that aren’t in the dictionary. Usually, the dictionaries catch up after a while.
5. Linguistic creativity: Writers, poets, and speakers use these verbs to craft more engaging, memorable, or persuasive language. They provide a tool for creativity, allowing for the invention of new metaphors or the reinvention of traditional ones.
6. Narrative and storytelling: In storytelling or literature, these verbs can help in creating a narrative flow that mirrors the emotional journey of characters. They allow readers or listeners to follow the ups and downs of emotional states as if they were physical movements, enhancing engagement and empathy.

Phrasal verbs for expressing emotions

◦Blow up – to explode / to inflate / to lose one’s temper / to exaggerate / to enlarge / of weather – to being to develop / of a dispute or scandal – to become public or emerge so others see it (Verb conjugations: blow/blew/blown)

Examples: The car blew up in the accident. / Blow up the balloons for the party. / The success of his new company had been blown up out of proportion. / The fall leaves were flying all over as the wind had blown up. / The housing crisis blew up when banks got sloppy with their lending practices.

Special notes: The noun form and adjective are “blow-up” or “blowup”. The exhibit was filled with black and white blow-ups (enlarged photographs) from the early 20th century. / Susie has some occasional blow-ups but she’s working on her anger issues. / These are blowup rafts for children.

◦Bottle up – to hold your feelings inside or repress them over time / keep a person or things confined or trapped

Examples: I keep my emotions bottled up. / Don’t bottle up your emotions (Don’t keep them inside). / I don’t like being bottled up in the city.

◦Burst into (something) – to suddenly start doing something or producing something (such as tears)

Examples: I will burst into tears if she dies. / She was so happy she burst into tears. / The car burst into flames after the collision.

◦Choke back (often tears) – to suppress a strong emotion

Examples: I had to choke back my tears. / You need to choke back your emotions. / Ken choked back his anger.

◦Calm down – to stop being so excited (in a positive or negative sense)

Examples: You should calm down before talking to Mike. / “Calm down, for goodness sake.” / My dog gets so excited about going outside that I have to calm her down before she breaks something.

◦Cheer up – to become or make another less miserable

Examples: Hey, cheer up, pal. Better days are coming. / A beautiful sunset always makes me cheer up.

◦Choke up – to become tearful or full of emotion

Examples: I started to choke up when she told her story of being captured. / She choked up while speaking at the funeral.

◦Crack up – to break into laughter; to suffer an emotional breakdown

Examples: The comedian totally made me crack up. / I felt like I was starting to crack up (get emotional).

Special notes: As a noun, it is “crack-up” which can mean to collapse under stress, a vehicle crash, or the act of breaking or splitting something apart. The mother was about to have a complete crack-up over losing her child. / The crack-up of the conservative party was their downfall.

◦Crack under pressure – to lose control of emotions after being under much pressure

Examples: I don’t crack under pressure. / The angry crowd finally cracked under pressure after the mayor refused to address the dramatic rise in crimes.

◦Fall about/fall about laughing (UK) – to laugh uncontrollably

Examples: I fell about laughing when told that story.

◦Freak out – wild or irrational behavior

Examples: I really freak out when I see spiders. / Now, don’t freak out…but I broke all your fine china dishes.  / She really freaked out when the house caught fire.

◦Go off/went off – of something that explodes or fires (a bomb, gun) / to become angry / to become bad (food or drink) / to go to sleep (UK) / to start to dislike something

Examples: The bomb went off. / She went off on the man after he cut her off in traffic. / Dairy good goes off very quickly when it is hot. / The children went off as soon as we got home from the long trip. / I went off sweets when I found out they use high fructose corn syrup.

◦Goof off/ Goof around – to be lazy / to not do your fair share of work

Examples: Stop goofing around and pay attention. / We didn’t do much. We just goofed off around town.

◦Fool around (goof around)– to act in a foolish, teasing, or joking way

Examples: Don’t fool around or you will get hurt. / Don’t fool around with the knife.

Special notes: Both goof around and fool around can have sexual connotations.

◦Grow on (someone or something) – to become more and more appealing

Examples: She’s really starting to grow on me (I’m starting to like her.). / I didn’t like the dog at first but she’s really starting to grow on me.

◦Lash out at (someone or something) – attack someone physically or verbally / to spend money lavishly (UK)

Examples: She really lashed out at the cab driver for making inappropriate comments. / Don’t lash out at me. I didn’t do it (Don’t take it out on me. I didn’t do it). / Wayne lashed out and treated himself to a new car.

◦Let down – to fail to help or support as one hoped / to fall short of expectation

Examples: Marcie completely let me down this time. / Canceling the show let them down.

Special notes: As a noun, it is “let-down” or “letdown” That’s a real letdown. / I expected more out of that movie but it was a real letdown.

◦Light up/Lighten up/loosen up – to become more relaxed

Examples: You need to lighten up. It was just a joke. / Hopefully, some snacks will lighten up the mood.

◦Light up / Lit up – to show happiness / to brighten

Examples: She really lit up the room (She really made everyone happy). / Just a smile can light up a room.

◦Stir up – to arouse strong feelings

Examples: He got really stirred up when they started talking about politics. / Don’t stir up trouble.

◦Take out on – to treat someone really badly

Examples: Don’t take your anger out on me. / Tim took it out on the whole office when he was fired.

◦Tear up – to produce tears or get teary

Examples: I really tear up when I watch a good romance. / She began to tear up when she found out he died.

◦Tell off – to scold or reprimand

Examples: She really told him off for being late. / His teacher told him off for being late for class for the fifth time.

◦Weigh down /Get (a person or thing) down – to hold someone down or impede them / to be burdensome or oppressive to another

Examples: The stress at work is really weighing down on me. / The stress at work is really getting me down.

For further study:

◦Why study Phrasal verbs?
◦Phrasal verbs for everyday
◦Phrasal verbs for mechanics
◦Phrasal verbs for relationships
◦Phrasal verbs for travel