Method

The Emotion Dictionary is written by hand, one entry at a time. Each entry starts with a clear definition. We then add the body. We note where the feeling tends to sit and how it moves. We note what it does to breath and posture. Every entry ends with what the feeling is often confused with, and what helps.

Each entry also carries a short lead answer. The lead condenses the entry's own definition in 35 to 45 words. Related feelings are computed from the meaning of the definitions. They are not picked by hand.

We follow one rule above all others. Nothing is invented. If we cannot support a claim, we leave it out. We would rather say less than say something false.

Where the science comes from

Three research families inform the entries. Body mapping studies ask people to mark where they feel emotions in the body. Valence and arousal research places each feeling on two scales. One runs pleasant to unpleasant. The other runs calm to activated. Duration research looks at how long emotions tend to last. It also asks why some linger. We draw on these families rather than on single headline studies.

The family groupings follow widely used models of emotion. The untranslatable entries draw on the languages that named them. We name the language on each of those pages.

Judgement and evidence

Not everything on an entry page is a cited finding. The definitions, the literary passages, and the choices about tone are editorial judgement. The body maps lean on research. So do the valence and arousal positions, and the duration notes. Where the science is thin, we say so in plain words. Where we have made a call, it is ours, and we own it.

How we know this

Many entries carry a short panel at the foot of the page. It is titled "How we know this". It stays closed until you open it. Inside, each claim has a plain line and a link. The link points to the original paper or book. The reading above it is left alone.

We sort our confidence into three levels. Established means the finding is well replicated and widely held. Studied means it is published but rests on fewer studies. Editorial means it is our own reading, not a single finding. We do not print these labels on the page. The presence of a source shows where a claim comes from.

Reporting a mistake

We make mistakes. Please tell us through the contributing note on the About page. Corrections are reviewed and applied to the live entry. A reader who cares enough to write improves the dictionary fastest.

Review

This dictionary is reviewed by Gaetan Germain. Gaetan holds a Master of Science in Management. He also holds an LLM in International Business Law. He is an experience designer. He has twenty years of experience across multiple industries.

Gaetan built on the existing body of knowledge. He expanded the dictionary's scope to more than 400 emotions. He also developed the system that associates somatic signals with felt emotions.