10 Phrasal Verbs About Emotions
Are you ready to have some fun with phrasal verbs? Here are 10 common phrasal verbs related to emotions and attitudes, with definitions and example sentences:
Phrasal Verb #1 – Cheer Up
When you’re feeling sad, and then you start to feel happy again,you’re starting to cheer up. This phrasal verb is often used to encourage other people to have a more positive attitude. For example, if your daughter is sad because she did badly in a swimming competition, you can say:
“Cheer up – you’ll do better next time!”
You can also do things to help cheer another person up – imagine your brother is depressed because he broke up with his girlfriend. You could say:
“I’m going to take my brother to a basketball game to help cheer him up.”
Phrasal Verb #2 – Lash Out At (Someone)
When someone suddenly and unexpectedly speaks to you in an angry way (or yells at you), they are lashing out at you. For example, if your best friend tends to get angry and impatient when her life is very busy, you could say:
“My best friend always lashes out at people when she’s under a lot of stress.”
Phrasal Verb #3 – Crack Up
To crack up is to suddenly start laughing (we also say “burst out laughing.”) For example, if something funny happens during English class, you could say:
“The whole class cracked up when the teacher spilled her coffee all over her desk.”
Phrasal Verb #4 – Calm Down
The phrasal verb calm down is used to describe the process of going from angry/agitated to more relaxed/calm.For example, if your boss is having a really bad day, and he’s screaming at everybody in the office, you could say:
“I’m staying away from the boss until he calms down.”
Phrasal Verb #5 – Choke Up
When you feel such strong emotion that it’s difficult for you to talk,this is called choking up. Imagine you are listening to a speech, and the speaker is talking about his mother, who he loved very much and who died recently. He stops talking for a moment because of all the emotion. You could then say:
“He choked up when he started to talk about the last Christmas he spent with his mother.”
Phrasal Verb #6 – Let (Someone) Down
To let someone down is to disappoint someone. Imagine you forgot your wedding anniversary, and your wife is sad and disappointed that you didn’t do anything to celebrate. You could say:
