EMOTION THESAURUS

FLUSTERED



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HELPFUL TIP:

The inner landscape of your characters (especially your protagonist) is the lifeblood that runs through your story. Emotions, and how they're expressed, are tied deeply to a character’s personality and which positive traits and negative traits will manifest. To bring your readers in deeper through shared experience, consider filtering the setting descriptions through your character’s emotions while also exploring important colors, textures, and shapes through his or her senses.
DEFINITION:
Feeling overwrought and self-conscious due to confusion, uncertainty, or frustration

SIMILAR EMOTIONS:

PHYSICAL SIGNALS AND BEHAVIORS:
Breaking eye contact with someone
Blinking rapidly
A sharp intake of breath
A flush appearing in the face and neck
Using speech disfluencies (ums, ahs) to stall while trying to salvage a conversation
Stumbling over one's sentences
Sputtering and struggling to find the right words
A nervous smile
Scraping a hand through one's hair or tucking it behind an ear
The mouth opening and closing without speaking
Touching the face repeatedly
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INTERNAL SENSATIONS:
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MENTAL RESPONSES:
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CUES OF ACUTE OR LONG TERM FLUSTERED:
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MAY ESCALATE TO:
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CUES OF SUPPRESSED FLUSTERED:
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MAY DE-ESCALATE TO:
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ASSOCIATED POWER VERBS:
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