Your English: Collocations: emotion

‘His voice choked with emotion as he described what it meant to him to carry the Olympic torch’. In a similar sense, in experiencing very strong feelings, one can be filled with, overwhelmed with or overcome with emotion.

Some people show their feelings more openly than others and they may betray, display, express or show emotion, as in ‘The accused showed no emotion as the sentence was passed’.

Sometimes, of course, it may be necessary to control your feelings and hide, repress or suppress your emotions, as in ‘When the enormity of the achievement sunk in, he found it impossible to suppress his emotions’.

Emotions can be aroused, evoked, provoked, stirred or triggered, as in ‘There is little doubt that music is capable of arousing strong emotions’.

If you feel a range of emotions, this can be expressed as a mixture, a roller coaster or a gamut of emotions, as in ‘As the lead changed hands several times, the home fans experienced a whole gamut of emotions’ or ‘The game was a roller coaster of emotions’.

Emotions can be conflicting, contradictory or mixed, as in ‘I have mixed emotions about seeing her again’. If emotion is not allowed to be expressed, it can be described as pent-up, as in ‘Like crying, laughter allows the release of pent-up emotions’.

When people have particularly strong feelings about something, emotions can be extreme, heightened, intense, powerful, strong or overwhelming, as in ‘Given the intense emotions on either side of the argument, it is no surprise that there have been instances of violence’.