How it works
For a morning meeting or a counselor's lesson, this emotions word search printable gives pupils more words than happy, sad and mad. The starter list has 24, Thrilled, Grumpy and Embarrassed among them, and the Start from a list row holds seven themed lists.
Read the full guide
Seven families of feeling words
Happy Feelings, Sad and Tired, Angry Feelings, Scared and Worried, Surprised and Curious, Calm and Content, and Proud and Loving each hold one family. Inside a family the words run from mild to strong. Researchers group feelings too. Paul Ekman's list of basic emotions has six, and Robert Plutchik's 1980 wheel has eight.
What the words used to mean
Some clues carry a word history checked in Wiktionary. In Old English, sad meant full and silly meant lucky. To worry was to choke, and to thrill was to pierce. Petrified means turned to rock. Nostalgia is the youngest: a medical student coined it in 1688 from Greek words for homecoming and pain.
- After solving, ask each pupil to circle one word they had to look up and use it in a sentence.
Questions and answers
Is this a feelings word search printable for younger grades?
Yes. Short and Easy holds 12 words of 3 to 5 letters, from Mad and Shy to Proud and Brave, and Easy runs words across and down only. Long and Tricky holds the 60 words of 8 letters or more, such as Apprehensive and Exasperated.
How do the clues tell Annoyed, Irritated and Furious apart?
By strength. Annoyed is bothered by something that keeps happening, like a tapping pencil. Irritated is more than annoyed: the bother has gotten under your skin. Furious is the strongest word in the Angry Feelings list.
Which feeling words are left out?
Names of diagnoses and crisis words. Each is an everyday feeling a pupil might name in class, and Anxious appears in its everyday sense: uneasy about what is coming. The sheet gives no advice, and a finished grid says nothing about how a pupil feels.