emoted; emoting

intransitive verb

: to give expression to emotion especially in acting
emoter noun

Did you know?

Emote is an example of what linguists call a back-formation—that is, a word formed by trimming down an existing word. In this case, the parent word is emotion, which came to English by way of Middle French from the Latin verb emovēre, meaning "to remove or displace" (making the "removal" of the suffix -ion to form emote quite fitting). As is sometimes the case with back-formations, emote has since its coinage in the early 20th century tended toward use that is less than entirely serious. It frequently appears in humorous or deprecating descriptions of the work of actors, and is similarly used to describe theatrical behavior by nonactors.

Examples of emote in a Sentence

He stood on the stage, emoting and gesturing wildly.
Recent Examples on the Web The cast, given powerful dialogue, was also tasked with emoting fiercely without words, bringing every ounce of their characters’ anxiety, grief, longing and tempered joy to the screen. Holly Jones, Variety, 20 Feb. 2024 As in any solo show, Berlant details her triumphs and struggles — in this case, her inability to emote on camera and a shameful personal secret she’s kept hidden from everyone. Jenelle Riley, Variety, 26 Jan. 2024 The film hinges on the actor's ability to silently emote complicated ideas with his face and body language. Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 23 Aug. 2023 Concept cars have explored this idea for some time—we've seen demos of cars using their headlights to project crosswalks in front of pedestrians or using exterior panels to communicate to a cyclist that the car has seen them, or just emote to everyone nearby. Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 19 Dec. 2023 Early in Natalia Speaks the filmmakers arrange for Natalia to sit down with Michael Barnett, who begins to emote his own tale of abuse at the hands of his now ex-wife. Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 1 Jan. 2024 As the music was coming together, what was inspiring you to emote or be creative, lyrically and thematically? Jonathan Cohen, SPIN, 26 Dec. 2023 First, own the mistake and apologize without shifting the blame, overly emoting, overexplaining or using clichés. Expert Panel®, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023 The characters emote with the rich, sticky languor of a lava lamp, and none come to life with the force of those in the works to which Catán nods. Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 17 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'emote.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from emotion

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of emote was in 1917

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near emote

Cite this Entry

“Emote.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emote. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

emote

verb
emoted; emoting
: to express emotion in or as if in a play
emoter noun

More from Merriam-Webster on emote

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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