Emotional violence by teachers against students in the form of insults and belittling is part of everyday school life. At the same time, it is often difficult to identify emotional violence as a phenomenon in specific situations. This article examines the dimensions that play a role in defining the phenomenon of emotional violence. For this purpose, existing discourses on the concept of violence and the soul are referred to and adapted to the context of pedagogical relationships. It is shown that emotional violence is a relational phenomenon, according to which the sensemaking of situations depends on different positions on the following dimensions: 1) epistemic dimension; 2) structural and cultural dimension; 3) relational dimension; and 4) personal dimension. At the same time, the theoretical definition identifies three areas of tension.