GRE Confusing Words Practice

"Her emotional speech moved the crowd." "Her emotive speech moved the crowd." Both work. Emotional emphasizes feeling or expressing emotion; emotive emphasizes arousing emotion in others. They are not always interchangeable: "He's very emotional today" means he is upset or feeling strong emotions; "He's very emotive today" sounds odd in that sense. "An emotive ad campaign" fits when the campaign is designed to stir emotions; "an emotional ad campaign" is less precise for that meaning, though it is also possible.