English Collocations with Emotions

Here you will learn English collocations with emotions. Collocations are combinations of two or more words that naturally exist in English. Learning collocations will help you improve English skills and achieve fluency.

If you want to learn some idioms related to feelings and emotions, don’t forget to check out this post.

Harry

Harry is a native English teacher with over 10 years of experience both online and in face-to-face lessons. With his extensive experience in business, he specialises in Business English lessons but happily teaches ESL students with any English learning needs.

Hi there. This is Harry. And welcome back to my English learning podcast Speak Better English with Harry where I tried to help you to get a better understanding of English so you can communicate in a better and more effective and efficient way.

So what do I have for you today? We’re going to talk about emotions. But in this particular podcast, we’re going to look at English collocations with emotions. I’ll give you some expressions, meanings and examples of how you can use those.

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English Collocations with Emotions

to hide your emotions

Meaning: to not display your emotions in public

So people hide their emotions in many different ways. How do you hide your emotions? People just put on a brave face and smile and don’t let people see how exactly they’re feeling. So they get bad news, they take a deep breath and they just smile and they walk away.

Example:

You have to hide your emotions because as a society we don’t really accept any negative feelings.

to be overcome with emotion

Meaning: so this is quite the opposite to hide your emotions. To be overcome with emotion means that you can no longer hide it. It comes out in different ways by crying, screaming, or some other visible effect.

Example:

He was overcome with emotion when he heard the news of the passing of his favourite grandmother.

He was overcome with emotion when his wife told him that she was leaving him.

overwhelming emotion

Meaning: you can’t control what you really feel, it’s a little bit too much

Overwhelming is something that overcomes us, takes control, overwhelming emotion, and can be positive or can be negative. The signs or the noise of overwhelming emotion, people clapping, people singing, people, shouting, people screaming.

Example:

There were signs of overwhelming emotion in the crowd when they heard the news that he had survived.

English Collocations with Emotions

pent-up emotions

Meaning: emotions that have been building up over a period of time

It is building up inside, very like a volcano and then it explodes. Somebody can no longer keep it in.

Example:

Remember, you are not alone in this and sometimes you just need to vent to get rid of those pent-up emotions.

to show your emotions

Meaning: to demonstrate your emotions in many different ways

You can do it through your body. Language can show your emotions or disgust. You show your emotions of excitement, of love or hatred. All of those emotions that I’ve mentioned previously.

Example:

Nowadays people are encouraged to show their emotions and to let their emotions out. If they want to cry, they cry. If they want to scream, they scream.

raw emotion

Meaning: when something is raw it’s like a piece of meat, it’s uncooked; raw is something that has not been controlled

Example:

The whole thing of boxing is to play on the raw emotions of the crowd.

English Collocations with Emotions

Of course, we can

be full of emotion

Meaning: to show or feel strong emotions, particularly happiness or sadness

We can be full of tears. We can be full of happiness. We could be full of sadness. Whatever the emotion is, we are full of it, meaning we are ready to explode. We are ready to share it with others if they will let us.

Example:

Oh, I can’t talk to you now. I’m just so full of emotion that the story was so gripping.

And then finally,

to be choked with emotion

Meaning: when you’re choked, it means that you can’t express yourself. You can’t talk. You can’t get your feelings out because it’s still inside. It’s still raw.

Example:

I don’t know. I can’t talk, please leave me alone. I’m choked with emotion and hardly able to speak. I have to deal with it in my own way, and later on, I will be able to discuss it with you.

So here are our English collocations with emotions. Let me give them to you one more time:

to hide their emotions
overcome with emotion
overwhelming emotions
pent up emotions
to show their emotions
raw emotion
to be full of emotion
to be choked with emotion

I hope you’ve enjoyed it. And as always, if you want to contact me well, then you can do so. Please contact me if you want me to include anything in future podcasts and very happy to listen to them and include them if I can.