Emotions & Feelings

Phrasal verbs for expressing emotional states

Introduction

Emotions are at the heart of human experience, and phrasal verbs offer powerful ways to describe them. When someone "breaks down" in tears or finally "cheers up," these two-word combinations capture emotional transitions that single words simply cannot express.

This chapter explores phrasal verbs for the full spectrum of feelings—from the depths of despair to the heights of joy. You'll learn how to describe emotional buildup, release, and recovery using the natural patterns of native speakers.

Themes

All Phrasal Verbs in This Chapter (103)

• break down To lose emotional control and start crying
• cheer up To become happier or make someone happier
• calm down To become less agitated or to make someone less upset
• open up To share feelings or personal information
• bottle up To suppress emotions and not express them
• lash out To suddenly attack verbally or physically
• lighten up To become less serious or stop being so uptight
• freak out To panic or become extremely upset or excited
• wind up To make someone angry or annoyed (British)
• snap out of To suddenly stop being in a bad mood or daze
• build up To gradually increase in intensity (of emotions)
• let down To disappoint someone
• get over To recover from an emotional experience
• blow up To suddenly become very angry
• chill out To relax and calm down
• tear up To begin to cry, eyes filling with tears
• perk up To become more cheerful or lively
• work up To gradually develop a strong emotion
• crack up To laugh uncontrollably
• wind up To annoy or tease someone deliberately
• choke up To become too emotional to speak
• light up To become visibly happy or excited
• get over To recover from an emotional experience
• take out on To direct anger at someone unfairly
• brighten up To become happier; to make more cheerful
• well up To rise to the surface (tears or emotions)
• warm to To begin to like someone or something
• put off To cause someone to dislike something
• key up To make nervous or excited
• dwell on To think about something too much
• melt down To lose emotional control completely
• look forward to To anticipate with pleasure
• let down To disappoint someone
• build up To increase gradually (excitement, tension)
• burst out To suddenly express emotion
• flip out To suddenly become very angry or upset
• cheer on To encourage with shouts
• fire up To excite or motivate
• stir up To provoke emotions or trouble
• perk up To become more cheerful
• warm up To become friendlier
• open up To become more expressive
• mellow out To become calm
• chill out To relax completely
• calm down To become less agitated
• cool down To reduce anger
• wind down To relax gradually
• settle down To become calm
• simmer down To calm from anger
• tone down To reduce intensity
• get down To depress
• bring down To make sad
• get to To affect emotionally
• weigh down To burden emotionally
• break down To start crying
• cry out To express pain vocally
• let out To express emotions
• pour out To express fully
• hold back To restrain emotions
• keep in To not express
• work up To develop a feeling
• stir up To provoke emotions
• whip up To arouse emotions
• fire up To excite
• psych up To prepare mentally
• pump up To excite
• stress out To cause stress
• freak out To panic
• fly off To become angry suddenly
• go off To become angry
• snap at To speak angrily
• take out To release frustration
• cool off To calm down after anger
• move on To continue after grief
• snap out of To recover from a mood
• shake off To get rid of a feeling
• shrug off To dismiss a worry
• brush off To dismiss emotion
• laugh off To dismiss with humour
• play down To minimize feelings
• cover up To hide emotions
• put on To fake emotion
• ease up To reduce intensity
• let up To reduce pressure
• wear off For feeling to diminish
• die down For emotion to subside
• drag down To make depressed
• beat down To demoralize
• cut up To upset deeply
• eat up To consume with emotion
• eat away To erode emotionally
• gnaw at To worry persistently
• prey on To cause ongoing worry
• hang over To weigh on mind
• brood over To dwell unhappily
• mope around To be depressed
• pine for To long for
• ache for To yearn for
• long for To desire deeply
• blow up To suddenly become very angry
• lash out To attack verbally or physically in anger
• well up For tears to form in the eyes
• tear up To start crying or get emotional