Emotive Language

Emotive language pertains to
word choice. Specific diction is

used to evoke emotion in the
reader.
Examples:
● Put that in the recycle bin.

○ This sentence is not emotive. It is a command, but it does
not cause an emotional reaction.
● You should recycle because it saves the planet.
○ This sentence is emotive. It suggests an action that elicits an
emotional response. Don’t you want to save the planet? How
could you choose to not recycle since it saves the planet?
○ The emotive response causes a reaction or a response.
Emotive language can be used in a number of ways. You'll find examples of
emotive language in spoken language, such as:
● speeches
● spoken word performances
● public addresses
● debates
● everyday conversation
It's also often used in creative or fictional writing to give the reader a dynamic and
engaging experience. This technique is common in:
● novels
● poetry
● short stories
● plays
Emotive language can also be used in non-fiction writing,
such as:
● biographies
● newspaper articles
● opinion pieces
● personal blogs
Examples of Emotive Language
“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and
sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of
brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state
sweltering with the heat of injustice, with the heat of oppression, will be
transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.”
This speech includes a number of examples of emotive language. For instance:
● The phrase 'I have a dream' uses personal pronouns, inviting those listening to share in King’s
vision of a better world. This phrase is repeated emphatically throughout the speech.
● 'Brotherhood' is an abstract noun - a word describing an idea or concept. King uses this
emotive phrase to appeal to the audience’s desire for the things that 'brotherhood' represents -
acceptance, equality, and community.
● King also uses metaphorical language, describing the state of Mississippi as ‘sweltering’ with
injustice and describing the cool ‘oasis’ of freedom that it could be. Using sensory descriptions
of heat helps to illustrate the difficulty of the struggle for civil rights, as well as reminding his
audience what they are striving for. This section of the speech is intended to motivate civil
rights activists to keep protesting for their rights.
Emotive Words
● Adjectives - appalling, wonderful, magical, and tragic.
● Abstract Nouns - freedom, pride, justice, love, and terror.
● Verbs - destroyed, vindicated, saved, betrayed, and adored.
● Emotive Adverbs - angrily, defiantly, proudly, and beautifully.
Wordiness and the problem with emotive adverbs
● 'James ran quickly home.'

● 'James raced home.'
This shows that, although emotive adverbs are an easy way to inject emotion into writing, one
word can sometimes be more punchy!
Synonyms for happy
Synonyms for good
Synonyms for bad
Synonym for sad

Synonyms for happy Synonyms for bad
● Overjoyed ● Nasty
● Gleeful ● Terrible
● Content ● Awful
● Cheerful ● Grim
● Pleased ● Unpleasant
● Thrilled
● Ecstatic
Synonym for sad
Synonyms for good

● Unhappy
● Sorrowful
● Upstanding
● Miserable
● Righteous
●
● Depressed
Moral
● Superior
The wolf was attacked by the bear.
The defenseless wolf was violently attacked by the gruesome

bear.
He is very social and talkative.
He is always in people’s business.
She is meticulous.
She is a micromanager.
Here is an example of a character from Tiffany McDaniel’s novel The Summer That Melted Everything,
where she uses emotional language to convince the reader of her opinion of suffering.
“People always ask, Why does God allow suffering? Why

does He allow a child to be beaten? A woman to cry? A
holocaust to happen? A good dog to die painfully? Simple
truth is, He wants to see for Himself what we’ll do. He’s stood
up the candle, put the devil at the wick, and now He wants to
see if we blow it out or let it burn down. God is suffering’s
biggest spectator.”
Here’s an excerpt from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18:
Which is not an example of emotional language?
1. In a drunken stupor, she fell down a flight of stairs.

2. She intentionally fell down a flight of stairs.
3. She fell down a flight of stairs.
4. The clumsy girl fell down a flight of stairs.
“It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an
ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an
inscription carved around the top: Erised stra ehru oyt ube
cafru oyt on wohsi. His panic fading now that there was no
sound of Filch and Snape, Harry moved nearer to the mirror,
wanting to look at himself but see no reflection again. He
stepped in front of it.”

Emotive Language

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Emotive Language

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Emotive language pertains to

word choice. Specific diction is

● Put that in the recycle bin.

● 'James ran quickly home.'

Synonyms for good

Synonyms for bad

Synonym for sad

Synonyms for good

The defenseless wolf was violently attacked by the gruesome

He is always in people’s business.

“People always ask, Why does God allow suffering? Why

1. In a drunken stupor, she fell down a flight of stairs.

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