Interjections are the bursts of feeling in our sentences — quick words that pop out to show emotion or reaction. Think Wow!, Ouch!, Hooray!, and Oops!
An interjection is a word (or short phrase) that expresses a sudden feeling or reaction — surprise, joy, pain, disgust, and more. The name says it all: to interject means to "throw something in."
Here's what makes interjections special: they're grammatically independent. You could remove "Wow" and the rest of the sentence still works perfectly. Interjections add emotion, but they don't connect to the sentence's grammar the way other words do.
Interjections often stand alone or sit at the very start of a sentence, set off by an exclamation point or a comma. They're the part of speech closest to how we actually talk.
Different interjections carry different emotions. Here are the big families:
Yay! Hooray! Woohoo!
Wow! Whoa! Oh!
Ouch! Ow! Yowch!
Ugh! Yuck! Eww!
Phew! Whew!
Um… Er… Hmm…
How you punctuate an interjection depends on how much feeling it carries.
| Strength | Punctuation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Strong | exclamation point (!) | Wow! That's incredible! |
| Mild | comma (,) | Well, I suppose so. |
A strong interjection bursts with emotion and stands almost on its own: "Yikes!" A mild one eases into the sentence and just needs a comma: "Oh, that makes sense."
One exclamation point does the job. Writing "Wow!!!" doesn't make it three times as exciting — it just looks noisy. Save the big punch for when you really mean it.
Interjections are flexible. They can pop up in a few different spots:
"Oh, I didn't see you there."
"That was, wow, the best day ever." (set off with commas on both sides)
"Ouch!" An interjection can even be a complete thought on its own.
Some words moonlight as interjections but do other jobs too. The same word can be a different part of speech depending on how it's used.
| Word | As an interjection | As something else |
|---|---|---|
| Well | Well, let me think. | She sings well. (adverb) |
| Right | Right! Let's begin. | the right answer (adjective) |
| Oh | Oh! You scared me. | (almost always an interjection) |
Ask two questions: Does the word express a sudden feeling? And could you remove it without breaking the sentence's grammar? If yes to both, it's an interjection. (Compare "well" the interjection to "well" the adverb in "she sings well" — you can't drop that one.)
Many interjections are sound words — words that imitate a noise. This is called onomatopoeia (on-uh-mat-uh-PEE-uh), and these words love to act as interjections.
Boom! Bang! Crash!
Splash! Drip! Plop!
Meow! Woof! Buzz!
Achoo! Hiccup! Burp!
Interjections give your writing a real voice — they make it sound alive. But like any strong spice, they work best when you don't use too many.
In conversation and creative writing, interjections make characters feel real: "Ugh, not again!" she groaned. They capture exactly how people react in the moment.
In a report, essay, or science write-up, interjections usually don't belong — they're too casual. Save them for stories, dialogue, and friendly messages.
Read each situation and tap the interjection that best matches the feeling. Match the emotion to the moment!
Click or tap the interjection in each sentence — the word that bursts with feeling. Watch the start and the end of the sentence!