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

That figure is enough to bring the emo groundbreaker into the top 10 on the Billboard 200, where My Chemical Romance has now scored four wins and where the title also reaches a new high point. —Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025

The music industry veteran worked as a band manager, promoter and other roles in American metalcore, pop-punk and emo rock music. —Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025

She’s taken her most unexpected pivot yet on this epic kiss-off from Portrait of My Heart, with visceral riffs and overdriven melodies evoking the high-wire emo theatrics that infiltrated MTV during the 33-year-old’s own teenage years. —Jenn Pelly, Time, 7 June 2025

At the Disco, Weezer, Avril Lavigne, the Offspring This two-day affair at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds welcomes roughly 50 emo and pop-punk bands across five stages. —Dan Reilly, Vulture, 9 Apr. 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