An interjection is a part of speech that shows the emotion or feeling of the author. These words or phrases can stand alone or be placed before or after a sentence. Many times an interjection is followed by a punctuation mark, often an exclamation point.
Interjections: Showing the Author’s Emotion
Here are some examples of interjections and their definitions:
- Ahem – The sound of someone clearing their throat and means “attention” or “listen”
- Aah – This is used as a call for help or when someone is scared
- Boo – Used to scare someone or to voice disapproval
- Eh – This is used when you didn’t hear or understand what someone said
- Eww – Ahows dislike or disgust
- Hmm – This can mean you are thinking or hesitating
- Jeez – Could mean you can’t believe something, or you are exasperated
- Ooh-la-la – A slightly comical way to refer to something as fancy or special
- Oops – An exclamation people use when they accidentally do something
- Phew – This expresses relief or that you are glad something is over
- Whoa – This can show surprise or amazement
- Yahoo – Expresses joy or happiness
- Yeah – This shows a very strong affirmation or approval
- Yoo-hoo – This is used to get someone’s attention and is usually used by women
- Zing – This is similar to a rim shot used in comic acts and emphasizes a clever statement or comeback
Interjections in a Sentence
Here are some interjections with an accompanying sentence:
- Ahh, that feels wonderful.
- Alas! I’m lost in the wilderness.
- Bah! That was a total waste of time.
- Bless you, I couldn’t have done it without you.
- It’s time for me to go. Cheerio!
- Congrats! You finally got your Master’s degree.
- Crikey! Do you ever think before you speak?
- Gesundheit! Are you starting to get a cold?
- Good grief! Why are you wearing shorts in the winter?
- Grrr! I’m going to get back at him for that.
- Humph, he probably cheated to make such good grades.
- Oh dear! I don’t know what to do about this mess.
- Pip pip! Let’s get moving.
- Shoot! I forgot my brother’s birthday.
- Well, duh! That was a stupid thing to do!
- Yowza! That is a beautiful ball gown.
More Interjection Examples
Here is a list of other interjections:
- Absolutely
- Achoo
- Ack
- Adios
- Aha
- Ahoy
- Agreed
- Alack
- Alright
- Alrighty
- Alrighty-roo
- Alack
- Alleluia
- All hail
- Aloha
- Amen
- Anytime
- Argh
- Anyhoo
- Anyhow
- As if
- Attaboy
- Attagirl
- Awww
- Awful
- Ay
- Bam
- Bah hambug
- Begorra
- Behold
- Bingo
- Blah
- Bravo
- Brrr
- Bye
- Cheers
- Ciao
- Cripes
- Crud
- Darn
- Dear
- Doh
- Drat
- Eek
- Encore
- Eureka
- Fiddlesticks
- Fie
- Gadzooks
- Gee
- Geepers
- Gee Whiz
- Golly
- Goodbye
- Goodness
- Goodness Gracious
- Gosh
- Great
- Ha
- Ha-ha
- Hail
- Hallelujah
- Heigh-ho
- Hello
- Hey
- Hi
- Holy cow
- Holy smokes
- Hotdog
- Huh
- Hurray
- Hush
- Indeed
- Jeepers creepers
- Lo and behold
- Man
- My word
- No
- Now
- Nah
- Oh
- Oh my
- Oh well
- Ooh
- Ouch
- Ow
- Phooey
- Please
- Pooh
- Pow
- Presto
- Pshaw
- Rats
- Right-o
- Scat
- Shh
- Shoo
- Shucks
- So
- So long
- Thanks
- There
- Touché
- Ugh
- Uh-huh
- Uh-oh
- Ugh
- Viva
- Voila
- Waa
- Wahoo
- Well
- Whoopee
- Whoops
- Whoosh
- Wow
- Yay
- Yea
- Yes
- Yikes
- Yippee
- Yo
- Yuck
- Yummy
- Zap
As you can see from the above examples, people use interjections every day in common speech. To learn more about interjections see What Is An Interjection?
