emotion、feeling、passion、affection与sentiment这些名词的共同含义是“感情”或“情感”之意。
emotion : 普通用词，词义中性。泛指因外界刺激而引起思想情感从细微变化到最强烈的发作。
- Like a lot of men, he finds it hard to express his emotions.
像很多男人一样，他不大会表达自己的感情。 - My mother was overcome with emotion and burst into tears.
我母亲控制不住自己的感情，泪如雨下。
feeling : 普通用词，含义广。多指具体的或内心的感受，或表露出来的强烈情感。
- The feeling of loneliness suddenly overwhelmed him.
一种孤独感突然涌上他的心头。 - There’s a feeling of dissatisfaction with the government.
存在着对政府的不满情绪。 - I got the feeling that I was not welcome.
我感觉到我不受欢迎。 - Her performance seemed to me completely lacking in feeling.
在我看来她的表演完全缺乏感情。
passion : 指极强烈的感情、尤指愤怒、爱好等。也常指两性间的爱情。
- Football arouses a good deal of passion among its fans.
足球唤起了球迷们巨大的热情。 - At school, his early interest in music developed into an abiding passion.
他早年对音乐萌发的兴趣在求学时期发展成了一种始终不渝的热爱。 - Politics and philosophy were his lifelong passions.
政治学和哲学是他毕生热爱的学科。
affection : 指对人的爱慕或深厚、温柔的感情。
- She felt no affection for the child.
她一点都不疼爱这个孩子。 - He had a deep affection for his aunt.
他非常喜爱他的姑妈。 - The former president still holds a place in the nation’s affections.
前总统仍深得全国人民的爱戴。 - Sula seems to have transferred her affections from Jon to his brother.
苏拉好像移情别恋了，不再爱乔恩，而喜欢上了他的弟弟。
sentiment : 一般指由一种思想激起的感情，含较大的理智因素。
- There was no fatherly affection, no display of sentiment.
没有像父爱般的亲昵，没有显得过于激动。 - There is no room for sentiment in business.
在生意场上心肠不能软。
#词汇辨析