Join In
Twitter
YouTube
Weekly Newsletter
Libraries
A-Z Grammatical Terms
A-Z Confused Words
FAQs by Writers
A-Z Awkward Plurals
Punctuation Lessons
Common Mistakes
(ordered by seriousness) ESL Vocabulary Lists Parts of Speech Lists A-Z Idioms and Proverbs Tests and Games Top Tip Install a grammar checker
for your browser
(ordered by seriousness) ESL Vocabulary Lists Parts of Speech Lists A-Z Idioms and Proverbs Tests and Games Top Tip Install a grammar checker
for your browser
Emotive Language
What Is Emotive Language? (with Examples)
Emotive language is the deliberate choice of words to elicit emotion (usually to influence). For example:- The regime's soldiers massacred the untrained and unwilling combatants. (This version is deliberately emotive and negative towards "the regime's soldiers.")
- Our soldiers heroically captured the terrorists' lair. (This version is deliberately emotive and positive towards "our soldiers.")
- Our soldiers neutralized the enemy threat. (This version is deliberately non-emotive.)
Table of Contents
- Easy Examples of Emotive Language
- Real-Life Examples of Emotive Language
- Emotive Language Using Connotation
- Why Emotive Language Is Important
- Printable Test

Easy Examples of Emotive Language
Ideas can be expressed in a way that is positive or negative or welcoming or threatening. It all depends on the words selected. Look at this example:- The victims were executed in cold blood.
- The men were killed.
Real-Life Examples of Emotive Language
Emotive language is designed to tell you the facts while influencing you to adopt the author's opinion. Here are three examples of non-emotive and emotive language side by side.Example 1:
- Non-emotive version: Another person in the bar was injured by the man's glass.
- Emotive version: An innocent bystander suffered facial injuries when the thug launched his glass across the bar.
Example 2:
- Non-emotive version: The government will reduce interest rates.
- Emotive version: The government will slash interest rates.
Example 3:
- Non-emotive version: Mr Smith was attacked by Mr Jones for two minutes.
- Emotive version: For what seemed a lifetime, Mr Smith was subjected to a vicious, cowardly assault by the unemployed, steroid-pumped monster.
Emotive Language Using Connotation
Emotive language can be created far more subtly than the examples above. It can also be achieved with connotation (an added understanding of a word's meaning). Here are three examples that use connotation to create a negative or position spin:Example 1:
- He is svelte. (positive spin)
- He is skinny. (negative spin)
Example 2:
- You are meticulous. (positive spin)
- You are nitpicking. (negative spin)
Example 3:
- You are unassuming. (positive spin)
- You are plain. (negative spin)
(Reason 1) Influence others.
When using emotive language, you are the narrator and the judge at the same time. In other words, as an author, there is an opportunity to influence your readers' opinions.- Lee begged / asked/ pestered passers-by for help. (Pick your word to suit your needs. Do you want your readers to like Lee?)
- The flames barely illuminated Lee's svelte/ willowy/ skinny figure. (Pick your word to suit your needs. Here, svelte and skinny create positive and negative impressions respectively. Willowy creates a generally negative impression, but it doesn't expose the author's contempt for Lee so evidently as skinny.)
(Reason 2) Don't be influenced by others.
Spotting emotive language is also useful from a reader's perspective. If an author describes a corporation as "the toxic giant" or an SUV as "an enormous gas-guzzler," you are unlikely to be reading an unbiased article.- State the facts and judge the facts using emotive language.
- Use the subtle differences between synonyms to influence your readers unassertively but effectively.
Help Us Improve Grammar Monster
- Do you disagree with something on this page?
- Did you spot a typo?
Find Us Quicker!
- When using a search engine (e.g., Google, Bing), you will find Grammar Monster quicker if you add #gm to your search term.