Where can I find a good list of "feeling" adjectives?

November 12, 2014 2:58 AM

In other words, I'm looking for a list of adjectives that could complete the sentence "I am feeling __." This is actually a fairly extensive group of adjectives, and I'm wondering whether this type of adjective is identified formally as a certain type of adjective (which would make it easier to find the set) or whether anyone has assembled such a list.
posted by arsgratia to Education (7 answers total)

Ugh, I must not have Googled this very thoroughly the first go-around, because a ton of lists like this are coming up just from a search for "feeling adjectives." So far this list appears to be most comprehensive, but perhaps someone knows about a better resource than that one.
posted by arsgratia at 3:03 AM on November 12, 2014

Well, this is a tool used in child mental health circles.
posted by Stewriffic at 3:13 AM on November 12, 2014

You might want to look into the list(s) provided in Rosenberg's 'Nonviolent Communication' (pgs. 42-46).
He categorizes them into words in how we interpret others (contra to how we actually feel), words we use to express ourselves when are needs are being met, an those when they aren't.
posted by wallawallasweet at 3:27 AM on November 12, 2014

Therapists use such lists a lot, and there are a lot of them online. I searched for "feelings list" and got these results, many of which seem great. This list says it's over 4,000 words.
posted by jaguar at 6:29 AM on November 12, 2014

I've always appreciated this "feeling wheel" developed by Dr. Gloria Willcox. This appears to be a derivative version that has twice as many words in the outer ring, but the original is also easily googled. Other lists will have more words but the nested organization of this chart can be very useful, depending on what you're using it for.
posted by dialetheia at 9:14 AM on November 12, 2014

2nding the feeling faces. I used them for an art therapy project and it was really helpful in general (I have difficulty identifying what I'm feeling).
posted by kathrynm at 9:54 AM on November 12, 2014

In a couple of audiobooks I've listened to, Jack Kornfield has quoted from a list of 500 feeling adjectives — he goes on for a minute or more and hasn't come to the end of the "a" words. It might be worth contacting him to ask about it.
posted by Lexica at 7:47 PM on November 13, 2014