emo

noun \ ˈē-(ˌ)mō \

Updated on: 16 Apr 2018

Definition of emo

: 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

Recent Examples of emo from the Web

Once pegged as emo, Cheem’s sound evolved quickly, weaving in elements of math rock, punk, hip-hop and melodic neo-soul.

— michael hamad, courant.com, "Cheem: A Hartford Band That Refuses To Be Constrained," 2 Apr. 2018
Known for melding hip-hop with elements of punk, emo, indie, and other genres, XXXTentacion began recording music with friends in his bedroom and releasing it online.

— brett clarkson, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Broward rapper XXXTentacion has the No. 1 album in the country," 27 Mar. 2018
Carrabba, 42, shared his thoughts on the new album, his connection to his fans and his relationship with being known as emo.

— trevor fraser, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Dashboard Confessional comfortable being emo," 20 Mar. 2018
The game's rich narrative involving alien parasites, emo supersoldiers, eco-terrorism, and robotic cats set its hooks in millions of U.S. gamers, myself among them.

— jennifer konerman, The Hollywood Reporter, "Defend Your Favorite Bad Videogame Movie," 16 Mar. 2018
From there, Thursdays and Sundays will be added, including theme nights such as old-school hip-hop parties, ’90s emo dance jams, and industry nights.

— michael klein, Philly.com, "Fun city: Two night spots open in Center City," 6 Feb. 2018
All the mirrors One of the missions of ST:DISCO seems to be taking the campiest tropes from ST:TOS and turning them emo and dark.

— annalee newitz, Ars Technica, "Star Trek: Discovery is back and things are seriously #$%!&!," 9 Jan. 2018
Raised in Foxborough, emo-rapper Joe Mulherin calls himself nothing, nowhere.

— sophie cannon, BostonGlobe.com, "Number of Mass. music acts at SXSW doubled this year," 11 Mar. 2018
Within that rising scene, a small number of artists have leaned heavily on the aesthetics of third-wave emo—but even beneath that umbrella there are divides.

— leor galil, Chicago Reader, "Vermont MC Joe Mulherin recasts emo in the light of hip-hop as Nothing,Nowhere.," 2 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'emo.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of emo

short for emotional

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First Known Use: 1988

in the meaning defined above

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