emo

noun

ˈē-(ˌ)mō 

: a style of rock music influenced by punk rock and featuring introspective and emotionally fraught lyrics

In emo, the heart forever hurts, and the ultra-introspective songwriter pines for beautiful death.

—Robert Sullivan

emo adjective

The film is sensitively directed, full of emo songs and quiet little character moments.

—Kyle Smith

Examples of emo in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The brand said the cultural resurgence of emo and pop-punk offered the perfect opportunity to make new melodies about Frosty treats, sunrooms and late-night food runs. — Erin Clements, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2026

Taking Back Sunday was one of the bands that took emo into the mainstream in the early 2000s. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 19 Sep. 2026

And, really, what [emo] meant to us was being introspective with your lyrics and talking about your own personal struggles and your own personal pain and your feelings of yearning and stuff like that, instead of fighting external forces. — Haadiza Ogwude, Cincinnati Enquirer, 10 Sep. 2026

The array of influences shows up in her music, which pulls from everything, including rage rap, southern hip-hop, emo and alternative rock. — Heather Bushman, IndyStar, 9 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

short for emotional

First Known Use

1988, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for emo

• acknow
• aglow
• ago
• airglow
• aloe
• altho
• although
• ammo
• backflow
• backhoe
• banjo
• barbeau