He is sad, he bursts into tears and when happy his heart knows no bounds. He is that transparent person when it comes to emotions. An open book!! I am looking for a word for it, if it exists.
Thanks
5 Answers
I like mercurial for this purpose. Link.
subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind: his mercurial temperament
answered Nov 4, 2015 at 18:53
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Thanks @eric but if the word could highlight the transparency in showing those sudden emotions as well.– NinjaCommented Nov 5, 2015 at 19:59
Consider, volatile.
(of a person) liable to display rapid changes of emotion. OED
Labile would be the appropriate psychiatric term. Otherwise, are we talking somebody diagnosed as bipolar (mood swings on the order of months to years)? In that case you can use the colloquial "manic-depressive." Using mental health "diagnoses" outside of actual psychology as part of an expression is offensive to the mentally ill and their providers. As such, I downgraded your question. Disinhibited is also appropriate (without the hyphen).
Someone who suddenly bursts into tears when they are only sad, or appears to be greatly animated when they feel happiness or excited about anything can be described as
acting manic: showing wild and apparently deranged excitement and energy.
A more sensitive expression without the negative connotations is effusive
Showing or expressing gratitude, pleasure, or approval in an unrestrained or heartfelt manner ‘an effusive welcome’
Oxford Dictionaries
answered Nov 4, 2015 at 20:17
I guess it's impossible to find out a better word than : bipolar http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml
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Baiwir's comment is insulting. I'm sorry if you don't understand why.– Stu WCommented Nov 4, 2015 at 21:47
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The term BIPOLAR is a psychiatric diagnosis. To use it in any other fashion is insulting to the mental health community. Others include calling the weather SCHIZOPHRENIC for frequently changing patterns or looking with an AUTISTIC expression. DEPRESSED can be used adjectively, though, but that's based on Webster's: "We lived through a depressed economy." It's the equivalent of ... I'm not going to finish that thought. Try labile or liability--it works.– Stu WCommented Nov 4, 2015 at 22:46
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It is not necessary to consider the bipolar term under the pscychiatric angle, there are several degrees between what is admitted as being the standard and what is considered as by moving away too much.– BaiwirCommented Nov 5, 2015 at 21:47
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I have no idea what you're talking about. It's insulting; you shouldn't do it; I don't think it's more complicated than that. Of course there are a few examples where using a highly insulting term would be acceptable in fiction ...– Stu WCommented Nov 6, 2015 at 1:54