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Emotions & Mind

Feelings, cognition, beliefs, and mental states

18 categories187 words

All 18 Categories

Melancholy & Sorrow

Words for sadness, grief, and wistfulness

Joy & Elation

Words for happiness, delight, and ecstasy

Fear & Anxiety

Words for worry, dread, and apprehension

Complex Emotions

Words for nuanced and mixed emotional states

Empathy & Connection

Words for understanding, rapport, and emotional resonance

Remembering & Recalling

Words for memory and recollection processes

Forgetting & Oblivion

Words for loss of memory and awareness

Thinking & Reasoning

Words for mental processes and cognitive activities

Mental States

Words for awareness, consciousness, and mental conditions

Certainty & Conviction

Words for strong belief and confidence

Doubt & Skepticism

Words for uncertainty, questioning, and disbelief

Credulity & Naivety

Words for excessive or insufficient skepticism

Faith & Trust

Words for belief in others and higher truths

Decision Biases

Mental shortcuts that affect judgment and decision-making

Social Biases

Cognitive distortions in how we perceive and judge others

Memory Biases

Distortions in how we remember and recall information

Self-Perception Biases

Distortions in how we view ourselves

Reasoning Biases

Errors in logical thinking and inference

All 187 Words in Emotions & Mind

Complete vocabulary list for easy reference and copy-paste.

🌧️Melancholy & Sorrow12

Term	Definition	Example
melancholy	a deep, pensive sadness	"A gentle melancholy settled over her as autumn arrived."
ennui	a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction from lack of interest	"The aristocrats suffered from chronic ennui in their gilded cages."
weltschmerz	world-weariness; sadness over the evils of the world	"His poetry expressed a profound weltschmerz about modern existence."
languor	the state of physical or mental weariness; listlessness	"A pleasant languor overtook her in the summer heat."
wistful	having a feeling of vague or regretful longing	"She gave a wistful smile at the mention of her hometown."
plaintive	sounding sad and mournful	"The plaintive cry of the seagull echoed across the harbor."
doleful	expressing sorrow; mournful	"The dog's doleful eyes begged for a treat."
lugubrious	looking or sounding sad and dismal	"The lugubrious funeral march filled the cathedral."
disconsolate	without consolation or comfort; unhappy	"She sat disconsolate after hearing the news."
bereft	deprived of; lacking something needed	"He was utterly bereft after losing his wife of fifty years."
forlorn	pitifully sad and abandoned or lonely	"The forlorn child waited at the window for parents who never came."
despondent	in low spirits from loss of hope or courage	"After months of rejection, he grew despondent about his job search."

✨Joy & Elation10

Term	Definition	Example
euphoria	a feeling of intense excitement and happiness	"The team experienced euphoria after winning the championship."
elation	great happiness and exhilaration	"Her elation at the promotion was infectious."
exuberance	the quality of being full of energy and excitement	"The children's exuberance was exhausting but delightful."
rapture	a feeling of intense pleasure or joy	"She listened to the symphony in rapture."
bliss	perfect happiness; great joy	"The newlyweds lived in blissful ignorance of the challenges ahead."
jubilation	a feeling of great happiness and triumph	"Jubilation erupted in the streets when the war ended."
exhilaration	a feeling of excitement, happiness, or elation	"The exhilaration of skydiving is indescribable."
ebullience	the quality of being cheerful and full of energy	"Her natural ebullience made her popular at parties."
beatitude	supreme blessedness or happiness	"His face wore an expression of perfect beatitude."
felicity	intense happiness; the ability to express things well	"She described the scene with great felicity."

😰Fear & Anxiety10

Term	Definition	Example
trepidation	a feeling of fear or agitation about something	"She approached the interview with considerable trepidation."
apprehension	anxiety or fear about future events	"There was growing apprehension about the economic outlook."
consternation	feelings of anxiety or dismay at something unexpected	"The announcement caused consternation among investors."
foreboding	fearful apprehension; a feeling that something bad will happen	"A sense of foreboding hung over the village before the storm."
dread	great fear or apprehension	"She lived in dread of her secret being discovered."
angst	a feeling of deep anxiety or dread	"Teenage angst is a common theme in young adult literature."
perturbation	anxiety; mental uneasiness	"His perturbation was evident in his pacing."
disquiet	a feeling of anxiety or worry	"The strange sounds at night filled her with disquiet."
unease	a feeling of anxiety or discomfort	"An unease settled over the room when he entered."
qualm	an uneasy feeling of doubt, worry, or fear	"She had no qualms about speaking her mind."

🎭Complex Emotions12

Term	Definition	Example
schadenfreude	pleasure derived from another's misfortune	"He felt a twinge of schadenfreude when his rival failed."
pathos	a quality that evokes pity or sadness	"The film's pathos moved audiences to tears."
ambivalence	having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas	"She felt ambivalence about leaving her hometown."
equanimity	mental calmness and composure in difficult situations	"He faced the crisis with remarkable equanimity."
catharsis	the release of strong emotions through art or actions	"Writing served as a catharsis for her grief."
nostalgia	sentimental longing for the past	"The old photographs filled him with nostalgia."
saudade	a deep emotional state of melancholic longing for something absent	"The Portuguese concept of saudade has no direct English translation."
serenity	the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled	"The garden offered a sense of serenity amid the city chaos."
malaise	a general feeling of discomfort or uneasiness	"A vague malaise had settled over the country."
resentment	bitter indignation at unfair treatment	"Years of resentment finally boiled over into confrontation."
indignation	anger provoked by what is perceived as unfair	"Public indignation over the scandal forced resignations."
chagrin	distress or embarrassment at having failed	"Much to his chagrin, he arrived at the wrong venue."

🤝Empathy & Connection7

Term	Definition	Example
empathy	the ability to understand and share the feelings of another	"Empathy allows us to build deeper connections with others."
compassion	sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others	"Her compassion drove her to volunteer at the shelter."
rapport	a close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned understand each other's feelings or ideas and communicate well	"The salesman quickly built rapport with the client."
resonance	the ability to evoke or suggest images, memories, and emotions	"The poem has a deep emotional resonance for many readers."
vulnerability	the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally	"True intimacy requires vulnerability."
solidarity	unity or agreement of feeling or action, especially among individuals with a common interest	"They stood in solidarity with the striking workers."
reciprocity	the practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit	"Friendships rely on the principle of reciprocity."

🧠Remembering & Recalling10

Term	Definition	Example
reminiscence	the enjoyable recollection of past events	"His reminiscences of childhood summers were bittersweet."
recollection	the action of remembering; a memory	"Her recollection of events differed from the official account."
mnemonic	a device to aid memory; relating to memory	"Roy G. Biv is a mnemonic for the colors of the rainbow."
evocative	bringing strong images or feelings to mind	"The evocative music transported her back to her youth."
redolent	strongly reminiscent or suggestive of	"The cafe was redolent of Paris in the 1920s."
reminiscent	tending to remind one of something	"Her style is reminiscent of early Hemingway."
commemorate	to recall and show respect for a past event	"The monument commemorates those who died in the war."
memorialize	to preserve the memory of; to commemorate	"The foundation was established to memorialize the victims."
retrospect	a survey of past time or events	"In retrospect, the warning signs were obvious."
hindsight	understanding of a situation after it has happened	"Hindsight is always twenty-twenty."

🌫️Forgetting & Oblivion10

Term	Definition	Example
oblivion	the state of being unaware or unconscious; being forgotten	"Many artists die in oblivion, only to be rediscovered later."
amnesia	a partial or total loss of memory	"The trauma caused temporary amnesia."
oblivious	not aware of or not concerned about what is happening	"She was oblivious to the chaos around her."
ephemeral	lasting for a very short time	"Fame is ephemeral; only the work endures."
fleeting	lasting for a very short time	"He caught only a fleeting glimpse of her face."
evanescent	soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence	"The evanescent beauty of cherry blossoms symbolizes life's transience."
efface	to erase or remove; to make oneself appear insignificant	"Time has effaced the inscription on the gravestone."
obliterate	to destroy utterly; wipe out	"The bombing obliterated all traces of the village."
expunge	to erase or remove completely	"His criminal record was expunged after the pardon."
consign	to deliver to a person's custody; to relegate	"The incident was consigned to the footnotes of history."

💭Thinking & Reasoning10

Term	Definition	Example
cognition	the mental action of acquiring knowledge	"Language plays a crucial role in cognition."
ruminate	to think deeply about something; to chew repeatedly	"She ruminated on the meaning of his words for days."
contemplate	to think about deeply and at length	"He contemplated the vast expanse of stars above."
deliberate	to engage in long and careful consideration	"The jury deliberated for three days."
cogitate	to think deeply about something; to ponder	"He sat cogitating on the philosophical problem."
ratiocinate	to form judgments by a process of logic; to reason	"The detective ratiocinated his way to the solution."
cerebral	intellectual rather than emotional or physical	"His cerebral approach to art alienated some viewers."
pensive	engaged in deep or serious thought	"She had a pensive look as she gazed out the window."
introspective	characterized by examination of one's own thoughts	"The introspective novel explores the protagonist's inner life."
discernment	the ability to judge well; perception	"Her discernment in matters of art was legendary."

🔮Mental States12

Term	Definition	Example
cognizant	having knowledge or being aware of	"She was cognizant of the risks involved."
sentient	able to perceive or feel things	"The debate over whether AI can become sentient continues."
conscious	aware of and responding to one's surroundings	"He was barely conscious after the accident."
lucid	expressed clearly; mentally clear	"Despite her age, she remained remarkably lucid."
torpid	mentally or physically inactive; lethargic	"The heat left everyone feeling torpid and slow."
stupor	a state of near-unconsciousness or insensibility	"He sat in a drunken stupor, unable to respond."
confabulate	to fabricate imaginary experiences as compensation for memory loss	"Patients with certain brain injuries may confabulate to fill gaps."
dissociate	to disconnect or separate; to undergo dissociation	"She learned to dissociate from traumatic memories."
preoccupied	absorbed in thought; engrossed	"He was too preoccupied to notice her arrival."
abstracted	showing a lack of attention because the mind is elsewhere	"Her abstracted manner suggested deep preoccupation."
absorbed	having one's attention fully engaged	"She was completely absorbed in the novel."
entranced	filled with wonder and delight	"The children were entranced by the magic show."

💎Certainty & Conviction10

Term	Definition	Example
conviction	a firmly held belief or opinion	"She spoke with the conviction of someone who had seen the truth firsthand."
certitude	absolute certainty or conviction	"He expressed his views with unshakeable certitude."
assurance	confidence or certainty in one's own abilities	"She handled the crisis with remarkable assurance."
dogma	a principle or set of principles laid down as unquestionably true	"Scientific inquiry challenges religious dogma."
tenet	a principle or belief held as true by a group	"The central tenet of democracy is popular sovereignty."
doctrine	a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a group	"The doctrine of separation of powers guides constitutional design."
axiom	a statement regarded as self-evidently true	"It's an axiom of economics that people respond to incentives."
canon	a collection of sacred or accepted works; a general rule	"These principles form the canon of professional ethics."
creed	a system of beliefs or principles	"His personal creed emphasized honesty above all."
orthodoxy	authorized or generally accepted beliefs or practices	"The new theory challenged scientific orthodoxy."

🤔Doubt & Skepticism12

Term	Definition	Example
skeptical	not easily convinced; having doubts	"Scientists are naturally skeptical of extraordinary claims."
incredulous	unwilling or unable to believe something	"She gave him an incredulous look when he claimed innocence."
dubious	hesitating or doubting; not to be relied upon	"The origins of this artifact are dubious at best."
agnostic	neither believing nor disbelieving; uncertain	"He remained agnostic on the question of extraterrestrial life."
ambivalent	having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas	"She felt ambivalent about accepting the promotion."
equivocal	open to more than one interpretation; ambiguous	"His equivocal response satisfied no one."
tentative	not certain or fixed; provisional	"The conclusions are tentative pending further research."
provisional	arranged or existing for the present, possibly to change	"This is only a provisional agreement."
conjecture	an opinion based on incomplete information	"We can only conjecture about their motives."
surmise	to suppose that something is true without evidence	"I can only surmise what happened that night."
speculate	to form a theory without firm evidence	"Experts speculate about the causes of the crash."
hypothesize	to put forward as a hypothesis	"Scientists hypothesize that dark matter exists."

🎭Credulity & Naivety10

Term	Definition	Example
credulous	having excessive tendency to believe things	"Credulous investors fell for the Ponzi scheme."
gullible	easily persuaded to believe something	"Only the gullible believed his outlandish stories."
naive	showing lack of experience or sophistication	"It would be naive to think they acted without self-interest."
ingenuous	innocent and unsuspecting; candid	"His ingenuous questions revealed his inexperience."
artless	without guile or deception; simple	"Her artless sincerity was refreshing in the world of politics."
unwitting	not aware of the full facts; unintentional	"They were unwitting accomplices to the fraud."
cynical	believing that people are motivated purely by self-interest	"His cynical view of politics left no room for idealism."
jaded	tired or lacking enthusiasm from excessive experience	"The jaded veteran had seen too many false promises."
worldly	experienced and sophisticated	"Her worldly perspective came from years of travel."
discerning	having or showing good judgment	"The discerning critic saw through the hype."

🤝Faith & Trust12

Term	Definition	Example
credence	belief in or acceptance of something as true	"The theory gained credence after new evidence emerged."
faith	complete trust or confidence; strong religious belief	"She had faith that things would work out."
fidelity	faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief	"His fidelity to his principles never wavered."
allegiance	loyalty or commitment to a group or cause	"They swore allegiance to the new government."
devotion	love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for something	"Her devotion to the cause was absolute."
fealty	formal acknowledgment of loyalty to a lord	"Knights swore fealty to their sovereign."
credibility	the quality of being trusted and believed in	"His credibility was damaged by the scandal."
veracity	conformity to facts; accuracy; habitual truthfulness	"The witness's veracity was called into question."
authenticity	the quality of being genuine or true	"The authenticity of the document was verified."
bona fide	genuine; real; acting in good faith	"This is a bona fide offer, not a negotiating tactic."
sacrosanct	regarded as too important or valuable to be interfered with	"In this family, Sunday dinner is sacrosanct."
inviolable	never to be broken or dishonored	"The treaty established inviolable borders."

🎯Decision Biases10

Term	Definition	Example
confirmation bias	the tendency to search for, interpret, and recall information that confirms one's preexisting beliefs	"His confirmation bias led him to only read news sources that agreed with his views."
anchoring	the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered	"The initial asking price served as an anchor, making all subsequent offers seem reasonable."
availability heuristic	judging likelihood based on how easily examples come to mind	"People overestimate plane crash risks due to the availability heuristic—crashes are memorable."
hindsight bias	the tendency to see past events as having been predictable	"With hindsight bias, everyone claimed they saw the market crash coming."
sunk cost fallacy	continuing a behavior due to previously invested resources	"She stayed in the bad relationship due to sunk cost fallacy—all those years invested."
loss aversion	the tendency to prefer avoiding losses over acquiring equivalent gains	"Loss aversion explains why people hold losing stocks too long—selling feels like accepting defeat."
framing effect	drawing different conclusions from the same information depending on how it's presented	"Describing meat as '90% lean' versus '10% fat' demonstrates the framing effect."
status quo bias	preference for the current state of affairs	"Status quo bias kept her at her unfulfilling job rather than seeking new opportunities."
gambler's fallacy	believing that past random events affect future probabilities	"After five heads, he bet on tails—a classic gambler's fallacy."
recency bias	giving more weight to recent events than earlier ones	"Recency bias made investors forget the long bull market after one bad quarter."

👥Social Biases10

Term	Definition	Example
fundamental attribution error	overemphasizing personality and underemphasizing situations when judging others' behavior	"Assuming the late colleague is lazy rather than stuck in traffic is the fundamental attribution error."
halo effect	letting one positive trait influence overall impression of a person	"The halo effect made the attractive candidate seem more competent in interviews."
in-group bias	favoring members of one's own group over outsiders	"In-group bias led the committee to hire candidates from their alma mater."
out-group homogeneity	perceiving members of other groups as more similar to each other than they are	"Out-group homogeneity makes 'they all look alike' a common but mistaken perception."
stereotype	a widely held but oversimplified idea about a group	"The stereotype of engineers being socially awkward doesn't hold up to scrutiny."
projection bias	assuming others share one's current beliefs, values, or emotional states	"His projection bias made him think everyone found the joke as funny as he did."
just-world hypothesis	the belief that people get what they deserve	"The just-world hypothesis leads to blaming victims for their misfortunes."
horn effect	letting one negative trait overshadow overall impression	"One mistake created a horn effect, making everything else she did seem incompetent."
actor-observer bias	attributing own actions to situations but others' actions to personality	"Actor-observer bias: 'I failed because the test was unfair; she failed because she's dumb.'"
affinity bias	favoring people who are similar to oneself	"Affinity bias in hiring leads to homogeneous teams that lack diversity of thought."

🧠Memory Biases10

Term	Definition	Example
rosy retrospection	remembering the past as better than it was	"Rosy retrospection makes us think our college years were nothing but fun."
peak-end rule	judging experiences based on their peak intensity and how they ended	"The peak-end rule explains why a vacation is remembered fondly despite rain most days."
false memory	a recollection that seems real but is fabricated or distorted	"Eyewitness testimony can be unreliable due to false memory formation."
cryptomnesia	a forgotten memory returning without recognition as such	"His 'original' melody was cryptomnesia—he'd heard it years ago and forgotten."
source confusion	misattributing the source of a memory	"Source confusion made her think she read it in the newspaper when a friend told her."
leveling and sharpening	losing details while emphasizing others when retelling	"Through leveling and sharpening, the fishing story grew more dramatic with each telling."
misinformation effect	post-event information altering memory of the original event	"Leading questions demonstrated the misinformation effect in eyewitness testimony."
reminiscence bump	enhanced recall of events from adolescence and early adulthood	"The reminiscence bump explains why we remember songs from our teenage years best."
telescoping effect	perceiving recent events as more remote and remote events as more recent	"The telescoping effect made it seem like years since the party that was only months ago."
positivity effect	older adults favoring positive over negative information in memory	"The positivity effect means grandparents genuinely remember more good than bad."

🪞Self-Perception Biases10

Term	Definition	Example
Dunning-Kruger effect	the tendency for unskilled individuals to overestimate their ability	"The Dunning-Kruger effect explains why the loudest voice isn't always the most expert."
impostor syndrome	persistent feelings of inadequacy despite evident success	"Despite her promotion, impostor syndrome made her feel she'd fooled everyone."
self-serving bias	attributing success to oneself and failure to external factors	"Self-serving bias: 'I aced it because I'm smart; I failed because the test was unfair.'"
optimism bias	believing oneself less likely to experience negative events	"Optimism bias makes smokers think lung cancer happens to other people."
illusory superiority	overestimating one's qualities relative to others	"Illusory superiority: 90% of drivers think they're above average."
spotlight effect	overestimating how much others notice your appearance or behavior	"The spotlight effect made him think everyone noticed his small stain."
egocentric bias	overweighting one's own perspective	"Egocentric bias made her assume her experience was universal."
self-enhancement	the tendency to describe oneself more positively than warranted	"Self-enhancement in resumes is expected, but outright fabrication crosses a line."
naive realism	believing one sees the world objectively while others are biased	"Naive realism: 'I'm just stating facts; you're the one being political.'"
false consensus effect	overestimating how much others share one's opinions	"The false consensus effect made him shocked that anyone could disagree."

💭Reasoning Biases10

Term	Definition	Example
base rate neglect	ignoring general prevalence when evaluating specific probabilities	"Base rate neglect: assuming a positive test means disease, ignoring that most people are healthy."
conjunction fallacy	judging a combination of events as more likely than a single event	"The conjunction fallacy: thinking 'bank teller and feminist' is more likely than just 'bank teller.'"
representativeness heuristic	judging probability by similarity to a prototype	"The representativeness heuristic makes people think coin flips should 'look random.'"
zero-risk bias	preferring complete elimination of risk over greater overall reduction	"Zero-risk bias: choosing to eliminate one small risk entirely over reducing a bigger one."
normalcy bias	underestimating the likelihood and impact of disasters	"Normalcy bias kept residents from evacuating despite clear warnings."
survivorship bias	focusing on successes while overlooking failures	"Survivorship bias: studying only successful entrepreneurs, ignoring the many who failed."
clustering illusion	seeing patterns in random data	"The clustering illusion makes people find 'hot streaks' in random basketball shots."
outcome bias	judging a decision by its result rather than by the quality of the decision	"Outcome bias: praising a risky bet that paid off despite it being statistically foolish."
selection bias	distortion from non-random sample selection	"Surveying only mall shoppers introduces selection bias about consumer behavior."
belief perseverance	maintaining beliefs despite contradictory evidence	"Even after the study was retracted, belief perseverance kept the myth alive."

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