Sadness or Discontent: English Vocabulary List

(of an unfortunate event) making one feel extreme guilt or sadness

"The lie is heavy on my conscience."

"The secret he had been keeping for years weighed heavily on his conscience and caused him many sleepless nights."

to easily defeat someone by being more skilled, powerful, or aggressive compared to them

"The sharks will eat him alive."

"In the competitive business world, unprepared individuals can easily be eaten alive by more aggressive competitors."

a feeling like something is stuck in one's throat, often caused by strong emotions or the need to cry

"I got a lump in my throat."

"When she saw her daughter graduate she had a lump in her throat and tears in her eyes."

to feel deep sadness or disappointment, especially over a lost opportunity or unfulfilled desire

"He ate his heart out."

"She ate her heart out when she realized she had missed the opportunity to travel the world."

to cause strong and overwhelming emotional reactions, often leading to a burst of tears, feelings, or memories

"The news opened the floodgates quickly."

"When she started crying, it opened the floodgates and everyone began to share their feelings."

a state of great annoynce or anger

"His nose is out of joint."

"She got her nose out of joint when her colleague received the promotion she wanted."

to take advice or criticism very seriously and let it greatly influence one's decisions

"Do not take criticism to heart."

"She took her teacher's criticism to heart and worked very hard to improve her writing skills."

in a place or situation that is unsuitable or disadvantageous to one

"At the fancy dinner, I felt out of my element."

"The city boy felt out of his element when he tried to help on his friend's farm for the first time."

annoyed or disgusted by someone or something one has been dealing with for a long time

"I am sick and tired of his lies."

"I am sick and tired of listening to you complain all the time without doing anything to fix your problems."

very sad and hopeless

"He felt down in the dumps."

"After losing his job, he was down in the dumps for several weeks."

to cry a lot in front of others in order to make them feel guilty or sad

"Cry me a river."

"He tried to make his parents feel guilty by crying them a river over the broken toy."

a state of great sorrow and sadness caused by the ending of a romantic relationship or the death of a loved one

"She had a broken heart."

"His broken heart made it hard for him to trust again."

to make someone who loves one go through deep emotional pain and sorrow

"The sad news broke my heart."

"It broke her heart when her best friend moved to another country without even saying goodbye properly."

to make someone experience extreme pain or distress

"It will eat me alive."

"The overwhelming guilt from his mistake threatened to eat him alive if he didn't confess."

to cause strong and overwhelming emotional reactions, often leading to a burst of tears, feelings, or memories

"It opened the floodgates."

"Hearing the sad news about her childhood pet opened the floodgates of her long-suppressed emotions."