# The Emotion Thesaurus



## Scribble (Jul 23, 2013)

This might be of use to new, and even experienced writers to find ways to express character emotions. There is a book for sale, but the author provides some examples on that page (these are not in the book).

The Bookshelf Muse: THE EMOTION THESAURUS



> Example entry for Embarrassment:
> 
> - coughing
> - stuttering, stammering
> ...


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## T.Allen.Smith (Jul 23, 2013)

Yes... The Emotion Thesaurus is a favorite tool. Great as a guide.

It was discussed awhile back. Always good to bring back to conversation though for newer members. I know that several members use this great book.

My advice on its use (as I've used it a lot):
Don't use it strictly for every emotion or description of character action. However, it's an amazing resource to help creativity. Use it to generate your own, unique descriptions of emotion and expression. It can help get your thinking headed in the right direction if you're having trouble trying to think of new ways to depict action, expressions, internal feelings, etc.


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## pearlwayland (Aug 7, 2013)

I brought this a few days ago. It is really good for reference and if you get stuck, then it's a great help.


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## Bruce McKnight (Sep 15, 2013)

Own it. Love it.

In a similar vein, I'm currently enjoying The Describer's Dictionary by David Grambs. It's all on physical description, making it a good companion to The Emotional Thesaurus.


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## deilaitha (Sep 16, 2013)

I bought this a while back.  Excellent resource.  I get a kick out of the lists of long-term side effects of suppressed emotion.  In one of my WIPs I have a character with a lot of baggage, and this is excellent for helping me describe him.


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## SeverinR (Sep 17, 2013)

Bruce McKnight said:


> Own it. Love it.
> 
> In a similar vein, I'm currently enjoying The Describer's Dictionary by David Grambs. It's all on physical description, making it a good companion to The Emotional Thesaurus.



I just added the sample to my Kindle.


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## Tanihatu (Oct 23, 2013)

As I am new to writing, these sound like excellent resources! Thanks for this!


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## ebervalius (Oct 23, 2013)

Oh, man,this is so very useful!


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## Nihal (Oct 23, 2013)

I love the Emotion Thesaurus!

Unrelated but related. As a non-native English speaker who tends to forget all the other synonyms, I found this little image incredibly useful:


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## SeverinR (Oct 24, 2013)

I like that wheel even though I have spoken english for most of my life. (Except for the first year and when I got really drunk...lol.)


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## Sam Evren (Oct 24, 2013)

I'm sure this is rudimentary in comparison, but if you type "define 'term'" in google, say, literally, define amused, you'll get an immediate definition. There is also a sort of faded down arrow below the definition. It opens up history, usage through the years, but also synonyms and antonyms. 

Kinda handy for quick reference.


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## Scribble (Oct 25, 2013)

That is a cool feature I never noticed before. I have played with the NGram viewer. That is an interesting piece of technology, giving a window into social change using the written word as a source.

Try putting in words like alien, angel, death, sex, dream, nuclear, microchip, radiation, etc...

https://books.google.com/ngrams


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## Sam Evren (Oct 25, 2013)

Scribble said:


> That is a cool feature I never noticed before. I have played with the NGram viewer. That is an interesting piece of technology, giving a window into social change using the written word as a source.
> 
> Try putting in words like alien, angel, death, sex, dream, nuclear, microchip, radiation, etc...
> 
> https://books.google.com/ngrams



That is really cool. I've never seen that before. Thanks for sharing.


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## Nihal (Nov 1, 2013)

Scribble said:


> That is a cool feature I never noticed before. I have played with the NGram viewer. That is an interesting piece of technology, giving a window into social change using the written word as a source.
> 
> Try putting in words like alien, angel, death, sex, dream, nuclear, microchip, radiation, etc...
> 
> https://books.google.com/ngrams



Oooh, this is really useful!


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## Asterisk (Nov 23, 2013)

Thanks for sharing the “Emotion Thesaurus”.... I bought it, and will probably buy the Positive and Negative Traits books. These are great additions to my library!


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## Bansidhe (Dec 14, 2013)

This is one of those books that are right by my side as I'm writing--it's really pushed my craft to the next level, I have to say--it even changed my mindset about constructing prose in the way I choose my words/phrases now. The authors are coming out with two new books on character traits, which I'm eagerly awaiting. HIGHLY recommend.


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## Two Steps From Hell (Dec 14, 2013)

You guys should also check out her new Negative Trait and Positive Trait Thesaurus. Phenomenal.


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## Iamfenian (Jan 11, 2014)

I have the Emotion Thesaurus as a PDF file (purchased online).


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## JaybieJarrett (Jul 16, 2014)

I have this book myself.  It is pretty useful for coming up with the right words for describing how some characters react to certain emotions.  I tend to look up an emotion my characters is going through, think about why and then choose something that fits their character.  Like I have a bunch of characters and they all can react to the same emotion in a bunch of different ways.  I'd really recommend the book.


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## Anniekins (Aug 7, 2014)

Nihal said:


> I love the Emotion Thesaurus!
> 
> Unrelated but related. As a non-native English speaker who tends to forget all the other synonyms, I found this little image incredibly useful:



oh i like this! thank you


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## skip.knox (Aug 8, 2014)

Ngram is fun. Thanks for that!  I just wasted several minutes tracking fantasy races
elves, dwarves, orcs
gnomes, pixies, elves
etc.
a pity it doesn't go further back than 1800.


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## phoenixgrey (Aug 16, 2014)

All three books are on my to-be-bought list - the Emotion Thesaurus, and the Positive and Negative Trait Thesaurus's. They really do look like very useful resources.


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## robmatheny80 (Aug 21, 2014)

Definitely a must have!


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## George Lightgood (Oct 7, 2014)

This book helps finding alternatives to less easily defined emotions. It is easy to remember synonyms for happy or sad, as an example. Emotions like perplexed or melancholy, not so much.


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## Ned Marcus (Mar 29, 2019)

The Emotion Thesaurus is a great reference. Although I love ebooks, I prefer the paperback version of this. It's sitting on my desk now.


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