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

When the Goo Goo Dolls, with opener Dashboard Confessional, played Berkeley’s Greek Theatre in September, the emo band’s frontman Chris Carrabba remarked on all the teenagers who were rocking vintage band tees in the crowd. —Preston Fore, Fortune, 11 Sep. 2025

Belong is also a thrilling survey course of Jay Som’s influences, from crunch-guitar emo to delicate folk music, with features from Hayley Williams and Jimmy Eat World’s Jim Adkins. —Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2025

Compared to their counterparts in the emo and hardcore scenes of the early aughts, My Chemical Romance’s ambitions always played much grander, with a keen flair for the dramatic. —Jessi Roti, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025

What was the Flo Milli emo era like? —Michael Saponara, Billboard, 28 Aug. 2025

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