ə̇ˈmōshən, ēˈ- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French, from emouvoir to start out, incite, stir up (after Middle French mouvoir to move: motion ), from Old French esmovoir, from Latin exmovēre, emovēre to move out, move away, from ex- 1 ex-, e- + movēre to move — more at move
1.
a. obsolete : a physical or social agitation, disturbance, or tumultuous movement
b. : turmoil or agitation in feeling or sensibility
the nerveless dreamer, who spends his life in a weltering sea of sensibility and emotion — William James
love between men and women … is such a hot, stupid, middling thing, all emotion and no thought — Rose Macaulay
c. : a physiological departure from homeostasis that is subjectively experienced in strong feeling (as of love, hate, desire, or fear) and manifests itself in neuromuscular, respiratory, cardiovascular, hormonal, and other bodily changes preparatory to overt acts which may or may not be performed — often used in plural
how can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe — Mary W. Shelley
d. : an instance of such a turmoil or agitation in feeling or sensibility : state of strong feeling (as of fear, anger, disgust, grief, joy, or surprise)
he felt a sudden rage but quickly controlled the emotion
overcome with the emotion of grief when he heard of his friend's death
the girl hardly knew what love was since she had never before experienced so tender an emotion
2.
a. : the affective aspect of consciousness : feeling
we are not men of reason, we are creatures of emotion — C.C.Furnas
b. : a reaction of or effect upon this aspect of consciousness
the essential emotion of the play is the feeling of a son toward a guilty mother — T.S.Eliot
the emotion of beauty, like all our emotions, is certainly the inherited product of unimaginably countless experiences in an immeasurable past — P.E.More
reason rather than emotion forms the main basis for his marriage — Nellie Maher
the mind must have its share in deciding these important matters, not merely the emotions and desires — Rose Macaulay
3. : the quality (as of a song or painting) that arouses an emotion, especially a pleasant one
the melody of the song voices the emotion , the appeal — Anatole Chujoy
4. : an expression of feeling, especially strong feeling
the king moves anonymously among his men … listening to their emotions about the war — Delmore Schwartz
Synonyms: see feeling