Interjection: Definition and Examples of Interjections in English

Interjections! What is an interjection? Using an interjection is a great way to bring life to a conversation. The interjection can be anything from a greeting to a curse or an exclamation. They can be used as an independent sentence in response to a comment or situation and are great for making you sound like a native English speaker.

In this section, we are going to be looking at a variety of interjections and learning how we can use them in our day to day conversations.

Learn interjection definition and useful list of interjections (exclamations) in English with example sentences and ESL printable worksheets.

What is an Interjection?

What is an interjection (exclamation)? An interjection is a exclamatory word or phrase used to express a weak, mild, or strong feeling or emotion. An interjection is a part of speech in English grammar.

Interjection examples:

“Oops! I did it again!”

“Ooh, what a lovely dress!”

“Yahoo, we did it!”

“Shh, I can’t hear what he’s saying.”

“We’ve done it! Hurrah!”

“Bravo, Rena! You’re right.”

“Well, so Steve got the job?”

“Oh, how wonderful!”

“Meh, there’s nothing great about it.”

“A seven layer wedding cake? Ooh-la-la!”

Interjection Examples

Aah

Aah meaning and Aah interjection examples:

Expressing pleasure: “Aah, that’s great!”

Expressing realization: “Aah, now I see what you mean.”

Expressing resignation: “Aah, I give up!”

Expressing surprise/shock: “Aah! It’s eating my leg!”

Ah

Ah meaning and Ah interjection examples:

Expressing pleasure: “Ah, this coffee is good.”

Expressing realization: “Ah, now I understand.”

Expressing resignation: “Ah!Well, I’ll have to come back tomorrow.”

Expressing surprise: “Ah! There you are!”

Aha 

Aha meaning: Understanding, triumph

“Aha! So you planned all this, did you?”

Ahem

Ahem meaning: The sound of clearing one’s throat. Used to get someone’s attention, especially if they don’t know (or apparently forgot) that you’re there.

“Ahem! Can I make a suggestion?”

Alas

Alas meaning: Expressing grief or pity

“Alas, my love, I must leave now.”

Argh

Argh meaning: Expressing annoyance, anger or frustration

“Argh, get that cat off the table!”

Aw, Aww

Aw, Aww meaning and examples:

Expressing mild disappointment or protest: “Aw, come on, Andy!”

Shows sentimental approval: “Aww! Just look at that kitten.”

Feeling sorry or pity for someone: “Aww, that’s so sad, he hasn’t yet learned to ride a bike.”

Bah

Bah meaning: Expressing dismissive or annoyed

“Bah, I never liked him anyways.”

Behold

Behold meaning: Expressing attention

“Behold! The bride comes.”

Bingo

Bingo meaning: Acknowledge something as right

“Bingo! That’s the one I’ve been looking for.”

Boo

Boo meaning and Boo interjection examples:

Expressing disapproval, contempt: “Boo!” they shouted, “Get off!”

A noise used to scare people by surprise: “I jumped out from the closet and yelled “boo!”

Bravo

Bravo meaning: Expressing approval

“Bravo, Rena! You’re right.”

Brr

Brr meaning: Being cold, shivering

“Brrr, it’s cold out there.”

Dear

Dear meaning and Dear interjection examples:

Expressing pity: “Oh dear! I’ve lost my keys again.”

Expressing surprise:v“Dear me! What a mess!”

Duh

Duh meaning: Expressing annoyance over something stupid or obvious:

“Duh, you should always lock up your bike.”

Eek

Eek meaning: Girly scream. Surprised, scared

“Eeek, It moved!”

Eh

Eh meaning and Eh interjection examples:

Asking for repetition: “It’s hot today.” “Eh?” “I said it’s hot today.”

Expressing enquiry: “Eh? She’s got how many children?”

Expressing surprise: “Another new dress, eh!”

Inviting agreement: “Let’s drink to his memory, eh??”

Question something: “So you won’t go tomorrow, eh?”

Er

Er meaning: Expressing hesitation

“Lima is the capital of…er…Peru.”

Eww

Eww meaning: Expressing disgust, dislike

“Eww, there’s a fly in my lemonade!”

Gah

Gah meaning: Expressing exasperation and despair

“Gah, I can’t do it!”

Gee

Gee meaning: Expressing surprise, enthusiasm, or just general emphasis

“Gee, , what a great idea!”

Grr

Grr meaning: Expressing anger, snarling, growling. Often used for dogs and other animals

“Grrr, I’ll hit your head!”

Hah

Hah meaning: The first syllable of “hahaha”, when something is just a little funny”

“Hah, you are out.”

Hmm

Hmm meaning: Expressing hesitation, doubt or disagreement

“Hmm! ! I don’t know much about it.”

Hello, Hullo

Hello, Hullo meaning and examples:

Expressing greeting: “Hello, Phoebe. Merry Christmas!”

Expressing surprise: “Hello! My car’s gone!”

Hey

Hey meaning and hey interjection examples:

Calling attention: “Hey everybody, listen up!”

Expressing surprise, joy, etc: “Hey, buddy! Is this your car?”

Hi

Hi meaning: Expressing greeting

“Hi, Barbara, how are you?”

Huh

Huh meaning: Mild, indifferent surprise

“Huh, you were right.”

Humph

Humph meaning: A snort, to express dislike, disbelief or annoyance

“Humph! That makes me so upset! The kitten is so mean!”

Hurrah

Hurrah meaning: Generic exclamation of joy

“We’ve done it! Hurrah!”

Meh

Meh meaning: Indifference

“Meh, there’s nothing great about it.”

Mhm

Mhm meaning: Agreement, acknowledgement

“Do you think so too?” “Mhm!”

Muahaha

Muahaha meaning: Evil villain’s triumphant laugh

“I switched the sugar and the salt! Muahaha!”

Nuh-uh

Nuh-uh meaning: Childish negation or refusal

“I kick you!” “Nuh-uh!” “Yuh-uh!” “Nuh-uh!”

Oh

Oh meaning and Oh interjection examples:

Expressing realization: “Oh, you scared me.”

Expressing surprise: “Oh, how wonderful!”

Expressing pain: “Oh! I have a terrific headache.”

Expressing pleading: “Oh, please, you must believe me.”

Ooh-la-la

Ooh-la-la meaning: An often ironic (or just funny) way indicating that something is fancy or high class

“A seven layer wedding cake? Ooh-la-la!”

Ooh

Ooh meaning: Wonder, amazement (ohhh can also mean ahhh)

“Ooh, what a lovely dress!”

Oomph

Oomph meaning: A grunt made on sudden exertion. Also used as a noun to mean “power” or “energy” (“This song needs more oomph!”)

“Push on 3.. 1, 2, 3.. oomph!”

Oops

Oops meaning: Being surprised at or acknowledging your own mistakes

“Oops! I did it again!”

Oww

Oww meaning: Expressing pain

“Oww, you stepped on my foot!”

Ouch

Ouch meaning: Exclamation of pain

“Ouch, that hurt! Stop pinching me!”

Oy

Oy meaning: Mainly Jewish, Used to express self-pity, similar to “woe is me!”

“Oy! I left my purse at home.”

Pew

Pew meaning: Used for foul odors

“Pew, this blanket smells a bit fusty.”

Pff

Pff meaning: Expressing unimpressed

“Pff, I once caught a fish twice that size!”

Phew

Phew meaning: Expressing relief

“Phew, I’m glad that’s all over”

Psst

Psst meaning: Used to quietly get someone’s attention, often to tell them a secret.

“Psst. Let’s get out now before they see us!”

Sheesh

Sheesh meaning: Expressing exasperation, annoyance (corruption of “Jesus”)

“Sheesh, now he’s sleep again!”

Shh

Shh meaning: Used to make someone be quiet

“Shh, I can’t hear what he’s saying.”

Shoo

Shoo meaning: Used to drive away animals or small children

“Shoo, all of you, I’m busy!”

Tsk-tsk

Tsk-tsk meaning: Expressing disappointment or contempt

“Tsk-tsk, I think you’re wrong about that.”

Uh-hu

Uh-hu meaning: Agreement, acknowledgement (easily confused with uh-uh)

“Can I sit here?” “Uh hu!”

Uh-oh

Uh-oh meaning: Concerned for indications that something will happen

“Uh-oh, I think I just deleted all my work.”

Uh-uh

Uh-uh meaning: Refusal, especially if your mouth is full or if you refuse to open it

“Is Paul here yet?” “Uh-uh!”

Uhh

Uhh meaning: Indicates a pause in, rather than the end of, a sentence

“Six times three is… uhh… 18.”

Um, Umm

Um, Umm meaning: Expressing hesitation

“85 divided by 5 is…um…17.”

Wee

Wee meaning: Used by children when doing something fun, and often ironically by adults when something is fun but childish

“Weee! Faster!”

Well

Well meaning and well interjection examples:

Expressing surprise: “Well, so Steve got the job?”

Introducing a remark: “Well, what did he say?”

Whoa

Whoa meaning: Can be used to suggest caution as in here, and also stereo typically used by marijuana smokers to express dumbfounded amazement (“whoa, look at the colors!”). Originally a sound used to make horses stop.

“Whoa, take it easy!”

Wow

Wow meaning: Impressed, astonished

“Wow! Holy cow! That’s great!”

Yahoo

Yahoo meaning: Generic exclamation of joy

“Yahoo, we did it!”

Yay

Yay meaning: All-purpose cheer. Approval, congratulations and triumph

“Yay! Gilas is in for the Quarterfinals!”

Yeah

Yeah meaning: Common slang for “yes”, sometimes also used as an interjection.

“Yeah! She’s going with us tonight!”

Yikes

Yikes meaning: Fear and alarm.

“Yikes, my mother’s home!”

Yippee

Yippee meaning: Exclamation of celebration

“No school for five weeks – yippee!”

Yoo-hoo

Yoo-hoo meaning: The often ironic/comical, seductive call of a woman to get someone’s attention

“Yoo-hoo, buttercup! Come give me a hug!”

Yuh-uh

Yuh-uh meaning: Childish affirmation often used to counter “nuh-uh!” (not to be confused with yoo-hoo).

“I kick you!” “Nuh-uh!” “Yuh-uh!” “Nuh-uh!”

Yuck

Yuck meaning: Disgust, dislike

“Yuck! I hate mayonnaise.”

Zing

Zing meaning: Used (often ironically) to punctuate a punch line or witty comeback.

“You’re so stupid! You’d trip over a wireless phone!” “Zing!”