9 Phrasal Verbs that Express Emotions

Hi dear English learners! As you’ve probably noticed, phrasal verbs are very common in spoken English. It is difficult to understand native speakers or a movie if you are not familiar with phrasal verbs. Moreover, your English will be more natural if you use phrasal verbs. Therefore, in today’s lesson, we will look at 9 phrasal verbs that express emotions.

The phrasal verbs are as follows:

• Bottle up
• Calm down
• Cheer up
• Crack up
• Freak out
• Let down
• Light up
• Take out on
• Tear up

Phrasal verbs that express emotions

Bottle up

Some people are likely to repress their feelings and don’t want to talk about them or show them, so we can say that they bottle up their feelings such as anger or resentment.

• If you are sad, it is better to cry than to bottle up your feelings. 
• They were taught in their family never to show their anger or fears but to bottle them up.

Calm down

If you calm down, then you make yourself calm and relaxed. Also, you can also tell someone to calm down or calm them down.

• Ryan was breathing deeply to calm down after the argument.
• Robert was so upset that it took his sister a while to calm him down.

Cheer up

To cheer up means to start feeling happier. You can cheer up or cheer someone up.

•  When he saw his mum at the airport, he cheered up immediately.
• After Martin lost his job, his friends threw him a party to cheer him up.

Phrasal verbs that express emotions

We can also cheer something up such as a place.

• He painted the walls blue to cheer the room up.

Crack up

Someone who cracks up is unable to think and behave sensibly because of too many problems.

• Everyone who works as much as you do will crack up sooner or later.
• Simon couldn’t cope with the death of his mother and simply cracked up.

Freak out

To freak out means to become afraid, excited or anxious.

• When I was little, going to the dentist always freaked me out.
• Michael totally freaked out when he got a baby.

You can also freak someone out, meaning to make them feel afraid, excited or anxious.

• Getting a job at Microsoft totally freaked him out.
• Sandra freaked Bob out when she told him she’d had an accident.

Phrasal verbs that express emotions

Let down

If you let someone down, you disappoint them.

• Brenda really felt she let her parents down when she dropped out of college.
• Mary didn’t trust people much because she was let down too many times in the past.

Light up

If your eyes or face light up, you express happiness.

• Karen’s face lit up when she saw her husband parking the car.
• His face lit up when his parents gave him a motorbike for his birthday.

Phrasal verbs that express emotions

Take out on

If you take out on someone, you unjustly treat them badly because you’re angry at someone else.

• I’m so sorry I took out on you the other day, I had an argument with my girlfriend.
• I understand that you have problems, as we all do, just don’t take them out on me.

Tear up

To tear up means to have tears in your eyes, to begin to cry.

• He looked at her for the last time, and his eyes started to tear up.
• The corner of her eye started to tear up while she was watching the sad movie. 

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