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

And even though their indie rock side was fairly pronounced and their hometown shows were ramping up, wakelee struggled to find a place to fit in within NYC’s historically emo-averse local music scene. — Andrew Sacher, SPIN, 5 Oct. 2026

After the pandemic, country music was pulled toward emo and then toward honky-tonk, but the shift with the most buzz right now is the one toward the alt-rock rage of the 1990s. — Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2026

The brand said the cultural resurgence of emo and pop-punk offered the perfect opportunity to make new melodies about Frosty treats, sunrooms and late-night food runs. — Erin Clements, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2026

Taking Back Sunday was one of the bands that took emo into the mainstream in the early 2000s. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 19 Sep. 2026

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