100 Feelings and Emotions Words for Kids
- Age
- 4–6, 7–9, 10–12
- Skills
- vocabulary · emotions · description
Children often reach for the same few feelings words — happy, sad, angry, scared. This list gives them richer, more precise words so their writing can show exactly how a character feels.
The words are grouped by the core emotion and ordered roughly from gentle to strong, so children can choose a word that matches the intensity they mean.
How to use this
- Pick one emotion group and challenge your child to use three of the words in a short paragraph.
- Play “emotion intensity”: put the words in order from mildest to strongest.
- Encourage “show, don't tell” — instead of writing “she was nervous”, describe what nervous looks like.
Happy (gentle → strong)
Sad (gentle → strong)
Scared (gentle → strong)
Angry (gentle → strong)
Surprised & other useful feelings
Success checklist
- ✅ I can choose a feelings word that matches how strong the feeling is.
- ✅ I can show a feeling through actions instead of naming it.
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