Definitions
Wiktionary
- n. uncountable, music, early 1990s A particular style of hardcore punk rock
- n. countable, early 1990s An individual or group of people associated with that subculture and musical style.
- n. uncountable, music, late 1990s-current Any form of guitar-driven alternative rock that is particularly or notably emotional
- n. countable, late 1990s-current An individual or group of people associated with a fashion or stereotype of that style of rock.
- n. countable, 2000s A young person who is considered to be over-emotional or stereotypically emo.
- adj. often pejorative Emotional; sensitive.
- adj. informal, often pejorative Depressed.
- adj. Associated with youth subcultures embodying emotional sensitivity.
Etymologies
- Abbreviation of emocore. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Before 2007, the term emo had never achieved common usage in Mexico.”
“Back when I was in high school, the term emo never existed.”
“He ` s part of what we call the emo man, the emotional man.”
“(Japanese genre, kind of similar to what we call emo)”
“Wow, people still think the term "emo" is relevant? wonka bar”
Screenwriter John August on NOT Writing Alice in Wonderland Three Times | /Film
“The next person who says "emo" is getting pistol-whipped.”
Pantsbomber psyche laid bare in messageboard archives (corrected) Boing Boing
“Anonymous said ... seriously? there was a time when those people were just called depressed or had issues. being 'emo' is stupid, and it's a stupid label.”
“On MySpace, they call it "emo" which is my word of the month.”
“And it is, if emo is defined as uninspired heavy metal.”
The Huffington Post: David Finkle: First Nighter: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson Is Bloody Awful
“Beast Boy was more a super-human adopted by a superteam as family -- and way more emo from the start, with his tragic backstory and all.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘emo’.
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henryar's list
marmoleum, menagerie, cyan, ochre, pilfer, discombobulate, loquacious, iridescent, amethyst, derelict, botulism, equilibrium and 240 more...
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music genre
list of music genres - anything. even the most obscure sub-genres of sub-genres
twee pop, indie, shoegaze, doo-wop, punk, rock, jazz, pop, classical, hard rock, emo, goth and 190 more...
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Fashionista
Clothing styles & subcultures...
dandy, boho, mod, goth, emo, punk, grunge, hipster, pimp, lolita, preppy, metal and 22 more...
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Music lingo
unsyncopated rhythms, tonal harmonies, ambient soundscapes, bass line, synths, mellow, trippy, instrumental, vocal harmony, vamping, tonality, riff and 47 more...
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We Have Both Kinds, Country and Western
a list of musical genres
chillwave, shoegazer, punk, emo, rap, hip-hop, trip-hop, be-bop, loungecore, nerdcore, grunge, grebo and 27 more...
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cross words
the good ole boys of the nyt crossword puzzle
oleo, oreo, stlo, amie, ares, eros, erato, sloe, ogee, apse, enola, ecru and 94 more...
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Fun with Apocopes
Words created by removing the end of a longer or original word. See also Fun with Aphesis.
abs, ad, bio, veg, veggie, tux, auto, bike, carbs, pecs, bro, sis and 186 more...
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kingofbash's Words
bash, poleaxed, salacious, libertine, charlatan, aplomb, fortuitous, finagle, apoplectic, debutante, carte blanche, aardvark and 472 more...
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haguremetaru's Words
floozy, mandalay, mandible, x, don't, will, ridiculous, funily, stuff, junk, doody, manning and 152 more...
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The History of Cool
Words that mean "cool" around the world and through the ages.
cool, awesome, wild, stylin', groovy, neat, nifty, swell, great, tubular, radical, bitchin' and 188 more...
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Collage's Words
subtle, calamity, impale, qat, painterly, piebald, surly, nihilistic, repine, slake, larder, sepulchre and 349 more...
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good words
words that are mostly fun to say or just lovely
undulate, voluptuous, whimsy, parse, dank, cerulean, peen, traipsing, listless, coup de grace, reconnoiter, mercurial and 499 more...
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_mark's list
Words I like!
( personal list, favorite words, randomness )psy, nanobot, success, smack, vibration, microcosmic, springgraph, marksmanship, estranged, homoerotic, flex, fiasco and 1707 more...
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Overused
Words that are used way too much in conversation, especially by me. Which is not to say I don't like them
awkward, random, totally, so, fully, sweet, whatever, bloody, skill0rz, skillage, skill, oh my god and 35 more...
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Latin is Optime
I like Latin :)
crepitaculum, mendax, ianua, quotannis, quamquam, quod, stultissimus, ululavit, igitur, aliquis, senex, barba and 31 more...
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MadFun's Words
clash'n'dash, sangaku, sudoku, kakuro, topology, flocabulary, gibberish, psychopathic, smash'n'bash, urbandictionary, psyche, swashbuckling and 43 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for emo.

kewpid Emos are beautiful souls. Feb 20, 2008
reesetee I try to avoid it, skipvia. Too lappet-faced for me. ;-) Feb 20, 2008
chained_bear I love the end, actually: "...hair that is required to cover 3/5ths of the face at an angle." Perfect. Feb 20, 2008
skipvia Reesetee, have you ever heard emo music? The only fans are members of other emo bands, and maybe their parents... Feb 20, 2008
chained_bear I think there's a link to a relevant image for this page. See lappet-faced. If that ain't emo, I don't know what is. Feb 20, 2008
reesetee I gather that the author of that article isn't a raving fan.... Feb 19, 2008
skipvia I love this definition from the Urban Dictionary:
Genre of softcore punk music that integrates unenthusiastic melodramatic 17 year olds who don't smile, high pitched overwrought lyrics and inaudible guitar rifts with tight wool sweaters, tighter jeans, itchy scarfs (even in the summer), ripped chucks with favorite bands signature, black square rimmed glasses, and ebony greasy unwashed hair that is required to cover at least 3/5 ths of the face at an angle.
Note: I do realize that the word "rifts" should be "riffs," but I think I might invent a new guitar method employing rifts--you know, respecting the silent spaces between sounds, or whatever... Feb 19, 2008