What does emotionalised mean?
Emotionalised is chiefly a British-English word with two closely related uses. As an adjective, it describes language, images, accounts, or other material that has been deliberately made emotionally expressive or charged with feeling. As a verb, it describes causing people to feel strong emotion, often through an appeal to sympathy, moral concern, or pity. The word often suggests that emotion has been purposefully encouraged or intensified, so it can carry a mildly critical connotation when applied to debate, journalism, advertising, or political campaigning. It may also simply mean that someone has been moved. American English normally uses the spelling emotionalized. In informal conversation, a simpler word such as emotional may often be preferable, but emotionalised is useful when the source or intended effect of the emotion needs to be made explicit.
Expressing, rendered, or deliberately imbued with strong emotion.
"The broadcast was rejected for its highly emotionalised treatment of the tragedy."
Common of language, accounts, images, and other material, with the frequent implication that emotion has been deliberately heightened.
Past tense and past participle of emotionalise: to cause to feel or display strong emotion.
"The appeal was designed to emotionalise donors without presenting the facts."
Frequently used of campaigns, media, arguments, and appeals intended to provoke sympathy or other strong feelings.
One word can hide two ideas: emotionalised speech is charged with feeling, while emotionalised listeners are deeply moved.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does emotionalised come from?
Emotionalised was formed in British English by adding the verb-forming suffix -ise to emotional and then adding the participial ending -ed. The underlying adjective emotional comes through French from emotion, whose deeper roots lie in Latin emovere, meaning to move out or move away. Related English words include emotion, emotional, and emotive.
Related word forms
How emotionalised is actually used
The -ised spelling is standard in British English and is also used in other varieties influenced by it. The word is especially common in journalism, politics, and discussion of media and public appeals, where it can imply that emotional language has been intentionally amplified.
Easily confused with emotionalised
This is the standard American spelling of the same word and has the same meanings.
Emotional broadly describes a person, state, or experience involving emotion, whereas emotionalised usually emphasizes that emotion has been deliberately expressed or deliberately provoked.