10 Phrasal Verbs for Expressing Feelings and Emotions

Last Updated on: 01/01/2026

Talking about our emotions can be difficult in a new language. In English, we often use phrasal verbs to describe how we feel. These phrases help us express emotions like happiness, sadness, or anger in a way that sounds natural. In this guide, we will look at 10 essential phrasal verbs to help you talk about your feelings more clearly.

Native speakers do not always use simple words like “happy” or “sad.” Instead, they use phrasal verbs to add more detail to their stories. Learning these expressions will help you understand your friends better. It will also allow you to share your own feelings with more confidence.

If you are new to these types of phrases, it is helpful to start with the basics. You can find a list of the 100 Common Phrasal Verbs on our site to help you build a strong foundation for your fluency.

Here are ten useful phrases to describe your emotions in daily life.

1. Cheer up: To become happier or to make someone else feel better.
   • Example: I bought her some flowers to cheer her up.
2. Calm down: To become peaceful after being angry or excited.
   • Example: Please take a deep breath and try to calm down.
3. Bottle up: To hide your emotions instead of talking about them.
   • Example: It is not healthy to bottle up your feelings for too long.
4. Open up: To start talking about your feelings with someone you trust.
   • Example: He finally opened up about why he was feeling stressed.
5. Let down: To disappoint someone by not doing what they expected.
   • Example: I am sorry I missed your party; I did not want to let you down.
6. Flare up: To suddenly become very angry.
   • Example: His temper tends to flare up when he is tired.
7. Get to (someone): When something makes you feel sad, angry, or annoyed.
   • Example: Do not let his rude comments get to you.
8. Lighten up: To stop being so serious and try to have more fun.
   • Example: You are working too hard; you need to lighten up and relax.
9. Dwell on: To keep thinking or talking about something sad or unpleasant.
   • Example: Try not to dwell on your mistakes from the past.
10. Shake off: To get rid of a bad feeling or a negative mood.
    • Example: I had a bad morning, but I am trying to shake it off.

Learning to express emotions is important, but you also need to know how to describe physical actions. If you want to learn more common expressions, check out our guide on Phrasal Verbs with Fall. It will help you expand your vocabulary even further.

To help you find the right word for every situation, we have categorized more phrasal verbs by theme.

Phrasal Verbs for Sadness and Disappointment

1. Get down: To feel sad or depressed.
   • Example: “The rainy weather always gets me down.”
2. Bring down: To make someone feel sad.
   • Example: “His criticism really brought me down.”
3. Mope around: To move around without energy because you are unhappy.
   • Example: “He has been moping around since he lost his job.”
4. Weigh down: To make someone feel worried or burdened.
   • Example: “The responsibilities of her new job are weighing her down.”

Phrasal Verbs for Anger and Frustration

1. Blow up: To suddenly become very angry.
   • Example: “He blew up when he heard about the mistake.”
2. Fly off the handle: To lose your temper and become very angry quickly.
   • Example: “He flew off the handle when he saw the dent in his car.”
3. Work up: To gradually reach a state of anger or excitement.
   • Example: “Do not work yourself up over such a small issue.”

Phrasal Verbs for Anxiety and Fear

1. Freak out: To become very anxious or afraid.
   • Example: “She freaked out when she saw the spider.”
2. Get over: To recover from an upsetting experience.
   • Example: “It took him a while to get over the accident.”
3. Chicken out: To decide not to do something because you are afraid.
   • Example: “He was going to go bungee jumping, but he chickened out.”
4. Sweat over: To worry excessively about something.
   • Example: “Do not sweat over the small stuff.”

Phrasal Verbs for Confusion and Surprise

1. Throw off: To confuse someone.
   • Example: “The unexpected question threw me off.”
2. Dawn on: When you realize something for the first time.
   • Example: “It suddenly dawned on me that I had met him before.”
3. Taken aback: To be very surprised or shocked.
   • Example: “I was taken aback by his rude behavior.”

If you want to practice these emotions in a real chat, read our article on the Art of Conversation. It has great tips on how to connect with others.

The best way to learn and remember phrasal verbs is through context and practice. Try these tips:

Keep a Journal: Write one sentence every day about how you feel using one of these phrasal verbs.

Use Chunking: Do not learn the words separately. Learn the whole phrase as one unit. You can learn more about this in our English Chunking guide.

Test Yourself: It is important to check what you have learned. Visit our Phrasal Verb Quiz Hub for more practice.

Sharing your feelings is also part of your professional life. To learn how to communicate effectively in an office or during a meeting, take a look at our tips for Business English Phrasal Verbs.

Expressing your feelings is a big step toward becoming fluent in English. These phrasal verbs give you the tools to share your heart with others. Start using them today, and you will find that your conversations become much richer and more meaningful.