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Tips for Parents: Developing a Feeling Vocabulary

This Tips for Parents article is from a seminar hosted by Sharon Lind, who provides a list of tips and words to use in developing a vocabulary of feeling words. Advice is targeted at parents of emotionally intense children. The goal is to offer them tools for understanding and expressing their emotional state.
  • Topics
    • For Parents: Tips for Parents from YS Seminars
    • Social/Emotional Development: Social Values/Behavior
  • Author
    Lind, S.
  • Organization
    Davidson Institute for Talent Development
  • Year
    2003

One of the most important asset emotionally intense people, and those who live and work with them, need to develop is an extensive feeling vocabulary. Not being able to ACCURATELY articulate (in words or through actions, music, art, movement, journaling, etc) our and other's feelings can lead to frustration and a reluctance to communicate. Learning the nuances of the expression of emotion leads to validation of feelings and it gives partners, parents, friends, and siblings the language to help the intense person to recognize, accept, express and understand their myriad of feelings.

Here are a number of activities that help to increase a feeling vocabulary. Try these and then have your family create their own.

  • Place a list of feeling words on the refrigerator to peak curiosity (see the following list)

  • Choose a feeling word for the day -- jointly look it up in the dictionary and be sure everyone in the family is now familiar with its meaning

  • Chose a feeling word and act out how that might look; draw a picture of the feeling; create a dance that expresses the felling, etc.

  • Pick a word and find all the synonyms you can for it. Talk about how the feelings differ. For example...

    Possible Synonyms for ANGRY

    Possible Synonyms for HAPPY

    acrimonious

    angry

    annoyed

    choleric

    enraged

    furious

    incensed

    inflamed

    infuriated

    irate

    irked

    irritated

    mad

    miffed

    provoked

    resentful

    upset

    blissful

    chipper

    contented

    delighted

    ecstatic

    elated

    euphoric

    exhilarated

    glad

    happy

    jolly

    jovial

    joyful

    merry

    pleased

    rapturous

    thrilled

  • Pick a feeling, find all the synonyms, and then place them in order of intensity from mild to intense. For example:

    miffed

    ↓

    irked

    ↓

    irritated

    ↓

    upset

    ↓

    angry

    ↓

    incensed

    ↓

    inflamed

    glad

    ↓

    happy

    ↓

    delighted

    ↓

    joyful

    ↓

    thrilled

    ↓

    rapturous

    ↓

    ecstatic

  • REMEMBER feelings are subjective--it is possible to have three people order feeling words differently.

Feeling Words

abandoned

accepted

adequate

afraid

ambivalent

amused

angry

annoyed

anxious

appreciated

astounded

awed

bad

beautiful

betrayed

bitter

bored

brave

burdened

calm

capable

captivated

certain

challenged

cheerful

cherished

clever

comfortable

compassionate

competitive

concerned

confident

confused

conspicuous

contented

courageous

courteous

cruel

crushed

curious

deceitful

defeated

defiant

delighted

destructive

determined

different

disappointed

discouraged

disgusted

dissatisfied

distracted

disturbed

divided

dominated

doubtful

dubious

eager

ecstatic

elated

embarrassed

empty

encouraged

envious

excited

evil

exasperated

exhausted

fascinated

fearful

flustered

foolish

forced

forgiving

fortunate

frantic

friendly

frightened

frustrated

full

furious

glad

good

grateful

greedy

guilty

gullible

happy

hate

helpful

helpless

hesitant

homesick

hopeful

hopeless

honored

horrible

humiliated

hurt

hysterical

ignored

immortal

important

imposed upon

impressed

indifferent

infatuated

infuriated

insignificant

inspired

insulted

interested

intrigued

irritable

irritated

intimidated

irritated

isolated

jealous

joyous

jumpy

judged

kind

lazy

left out

lonely

longing

lost

lovable

loved

loving

low

mad

manipulated

mean

methodical

miserable

naughty

nervous

nice

obnoxious

odd

offended

outraged

out of place

overwhelmed

pained

panicked

peaceful

persecuted

perturbed

pitied

pleasant

pleased

pressured

pretty

proud

pushy

put down

puzzled

rage

regretful

rejected

relaxed

relieved

resentful

responsible

restless

rewarded

ridiculous

sad

satisfied

scared

self-confident

shocked

sick

silly

skeptical

sneaky

solemn

spiteful

startled

stereotyped

stingy

strange

stunned

stupid

suffering

suspicious

sure

surprised

sympathetic

talkative

tempted

tenacious

tense

tentative

terrible

terrified

thankful

threatened

thwarted

tired

trapped

troubled

trusted

ugly

uncertain

uncomfortable

uneasy

unequaled

unloved

unmatched

unsettled

used

violent

vehement

vulnerable

weary

wicked

wonderful

worried

Permission Statement

This article is provided as a service of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted young people 18 and under. To learn more about the Davidson Institute’s programs, please visit www.DavidsonGifted.org.

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The appearance of any information in the Davidson Institute's Database does not imply an endorsement by, or any affiliation with, the Davidson Institute. All information presented is for informational purposes only and is solely the opinion of and the responsibility of the author. Although reasonable effort is made to present accurate information, the Davidson Institute makes no guarantees of any kind, including as to accuracy or completeness. Use of such information is at the sole risk of the reader.

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