50 feelings you can portray in your writing

To make readers feel something, give your characters precise feelings: not just happy but ecstatic, not just angry but enraged. Below are 50 feelings you can portray in your writing, grouped under anger, happiness, sadness, fear, and love, each with a short note on what it means.

As a writer, one of your main goals is to make your audience, the reader, feel something. Your writing should make them angry or happy, thoughtful or scared, relieved or eager. To do that, especially in fiction, you have to make your characters feel. And there are many more feelings than just sadness, anger, and happiness.

So don't make your characters (and with them your readers) happy. Make them ecstatic. Don't portray your characters as angry. Let them be enraged. The list below gives you a much wider variety.

50 feelings to use in your writing

The 50 feelings and moods below are grouped under 5 "main" feelings. Of course, there are many more emotions you can portray, with many finer nuances. This is a selection for the most common feelings that your characters might have and that you want your readers to share. For ways to bring them onto the page, see how to add emotions to your story.

Feelings of anger

Grit your teeth, clench your fists, and go through this list.

1. Aggressive: when someone or something makes you want to use violence
2. Annoyed: the state you are in when someone has irritated you or made you a little angry
3. Bitter: anger and disappointment when you have been treated unfairly or cannot forget something unpleasant
4. Enraged: when someone has made you very angry
5. Fuming: extremely angry, often while trying to keep it inside
6. Hostile: when you dislike something or someone and act in an unfriendly way because of it
7. Irritated: how you feel when someone annoys you, makes you wait, or keeps getting on your nerves
8. Provoked: when someone has made you angry on purpose
9. Resentful: angry because you have to put up with something you were against or that you feel was unfair
10. Upset: unhappy or worried because of something that happened

Feelings of happiness

Don't let clouds darken your sky. The following list lets the sun come out.

1. Cheerful: in a bright and positive mood, and showing it
2. Delighted: the feeling when something has pleased or amused you
3. Ecstatic: extremely happy or excited, and showing it loudly
4. Festive: happy because of a special occasion, a festival, or a holiday
5. Fortunate: lucky because of something that happened
6. Glad: pleased for yourself or for someone else, sometimes after a time of worry
7. Gleeful: pleasantly excited, sometimes in a slightly mischievous way
8. Joyous: full of pure joy
9. Satisfied: when something went well or the way you wanted
10. Thankful: happy because someone did something for you or because of a happy circumstance

Feelings of sadness

If you are not feeling well and the world is too much for you, read this list, but remember in the end: it will get better.

1. Depressed: deeply and lastingly sad, often unable to do everyday things; depression is also a serious illness that needs care
2. Desperate: when you have lost all hope and don't know what to do
3. Grief-stricken: overwhelmed by sadness after losing someone you love
4. Lonely: sad because you are apart from other people
5. Miserable: so unhappy that it makes you feel ill
6. Mournful: showing sadness because of a loss or because you miss someone or something
7. Pessimistic: focused on the bad things that could happen
8. Powerless: when you feel that you cannot change, do, or stop something
9. Sorrowful: full of sadness and worry
10. Sulky: silent and bad-tempered because someone has upset or angered you, keeping your feelings bottled up

Feelings of fear

Fear can be short, after a scare, or last longer because of your circumstances. Either way, don't let fear ruin your life or make your decisions for you.

1. Alarmed: afraid because the signs point to something bad or dangerous happening
2. Anxious: afraid or nervous, especially about what could happen
3. Cowardly: lacking courage, so that you avoid or hide from what frightens or hurts you
4. Scared: nervous or frightened by something, or because you have to do something
5. Suspicious: when you don't trust someone or something and expect something bad to happen
6. Terrified: so afraid that you can hardly move or react
7. Threatened: afraid that someone or something will harm you
8. Timid: nervous and easily frightened, lacking courage or confidence
9. Wary: careful and uncertain about someone or something
10. Worried: when you keep thinking about problems or about something bad that may happen to you or to someone else

Feelings of love

Love may be the most powerful force on earth, so this list ends on a high note.

1. Admired: the feeling you have when someone praises you or looks up to you
2. Affectionate: openly showing your love for someone
3. Close: when you feel a strong connection with someone
4. Considerate: when you think about other people and are kind to them
5. Devoted: full of strong love and loyalty for someone
6. Passionate: when you have and show very strong feelings for someone or something
7. Sympathetic: showing understanding or concern for someone's situation or hardship
8. Tender: showing affection toward someone in a gentle way
9. Touched: when something has moved you
10. Warm: when someone has treated you in such a friendly and kind way that you almost feel physically warmer

Choosing the precise word for a feeling is one of the easiest ways to make your writing more vivid. For more on the subject, see this writing help for different emotions.