Producing strong feelings or emotions; designed to appeal to feelings rather than reason.
From French émotif or from emotion + -ive (suffix meaning 'tending to' or 'capable of'). Became prominent in English in the 19th century to describe language, art, or rhetoric that stirs emotions.
Words like 'emotive' reveal how language itself is never neutral—even calling a speech 'emotive' suggests the facts might be less important than the feelings it triggers, making it a surprisingly judgmental descriptor.
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