emotive
Pronunciation: /ɪˈməʊtɪv/
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Definition of emotive
adjective
Derivatives
Origin:
mid 18th century: from Latin emot- 'moved', from the verb emovere (see emotion)
The words emotive and emotional share similarities but are not simply interchangeable. Emotive is used to mean ‘arousing intense feeling’, while emotional tends to mean ‘characterized by intense feeling’. Thus an emotive issue is one which is likely to arouse people’s passions, while an emotional response is one which is itself full of passion. In sentences such as we took our emotive farewells the word emotive has been used in a context where emotional would be more appropriate.