😔 Emotions
bottle up
break down
Every wall eventually cracks. That is not weakness — that is honesty.
↓ SCROLL TO EXPLORE
bottle up
To suppress feelings and emotions without expressing them; to keep everything locked inside over a long period of time.
💡 He bottled up his sadness for so long that even he had forgotten it was there.
INFORMAL
break down
To lose control of emotions completely and start crying or showing distress; to be overwhelmed by feelings that can no longer be contained.
💡 She broke down during the interview when asked about the hardest year of her life.
INFORMAL
🎯 QUIZ
Test your knowledge — read the sentence and choose the right phrasal verb. Click to answer.
QUESTION 1 OF 3
🎧 SHADOWING
Shadowing is one of the most powerful techniques for improving your English pronunciation and fluency. Listen → speak out loud → record yourself → compare.
Shadowing practice
Use your phone to record yourself repeating each sentence. Play it back and compare your pronunciation with the audio.
BOTTLE UP
1 of 6
1
Listen to the audio
2
Repeat out loud — record yourself if you can
3
Write what you heard, then click Check to compare
🎙 RECORD YOUR PRONUNCIATION
✏ FILL THE BLANKS
One exercise for each verb — type your answer and click Check.
BOTTLE UP ▶ FILL THE BLANK
For years he had everything — the grief, the anger, the loneliness — until his body started to protest.
Hint: past tense of the verb meaning 'to keep emotions suppressed inside'.
BREAK DOWN ▶ FILL THE BLANK
He had kept it together through the funeral, the paperwork, the long empty evenings — but the moment his daughter put her hand on his shoulder, he .
Hint: past tense of the phrasal verb meaning 'to lose emotional control completely'.
📖 NARRATIVE
STORY 1 OF 2 · BOTTLE UP
bottle up
Tom was forty-three and had never once cried in front of another person. He had learned early that emotions were things you managed privately — so he did. He bottled up everything with impressive discipline. He thought of it as strength. He got very good at keeping the surface still.
👤 AUTHOR
