1 emote | Definition of emote

emote

verb
\ i-ˈmōt How to pronounce emote (audio) \
emoted; emoting

Definition of emote

intransitive verb

: to give expression to emotion especially in acting

Keep scrolling for more

Other Words from emote

emoter \ i-​ˈmō-​tər How to pronounce emoter (audio) \ noun

Did You Know?

Emote is an example of what linguists call a back-formation - that is, a word formed by trimming down an existing word (in this case, "emotion"). From the time "emote" was coined in the early 20th century, its use has tended to be less than entirely serious. It most often appears in humorous or deprecating descriptions of the work of actors. It is similarly used to describe theatrical behavior by nonactors, as in this passage by David Fontana, published in The New Republic on March 11, 2012: "We might not want our president to emote about economics or war; but why shouldn't a fan, or for that matter a sports announcer, emote about athletics, which is not after all a matter of world historical importance?"

Examples of emote in a Sentence

He stood on the stage, emoting and gesturing wildly.

Recent Examples on the Web

The loss of emoting ability on the animal characters isn't as pronounced here because the story in question has always been one of Disney's more down to earth and realistic films. Kristine Malicse, The Mercury News, "D23 Expo 2019: Fans react to Muppets, ‘Lady and the Tramp’ reboots and more," 24 Aug. 2019 From his early days as a wee royal, George emoted to an impressive degree, giving us baby grump to an iconic level. Sally Holmes, Marie Claire, "Prince Louis Dethrones Prince George as Cutest Royal Grump," 8 June 2019 Piero della Francesca’s Madonna del parto is housed in Monterchi, Italy, and would apparently cause a German governess to emote. María Gainza, Harper's magazine, "Both Sides Now," 10 May 2019 Of all singers of the 21st century, there are few who can emote musically the way Adele does. Natalie Maher, Harper's BAZAAR, "16 Mother's Day Songs That Are Just as Unique as Your Mom," 29 Mar. 2019 While everyone seems to be emoting more these days, previous research has shown that women used exclamation points more than men. Katherine Bindley, WSJ, "The Tyranny of the Exclamation Point Is Causing Email and Text Anxiety," 13 Aug. 2018 With the moon and sun in the same position, your emotions will be front-and-center, so give yourself plenty of space to emote. Aliza Kelly Faragher, Allure, "What August's Leo Horoscope Means for You," 30 July 2018 There’s plenty of blood and plenty of emoting desperation, fear, and misery, but none of it lands with any weight in the wake of the raucously silly premise and tone. Tasha Robinson, The Verge, "In You Might Be the Killer, a Twitter thread expands into a horror-comedy — barely," 5 Oct. 2018 One segment features a troupe dancing among the reflections of Johnson’s Glass House (1949), and the second films the same troupe emoting physically in the landscaped courtyards of Schindler’s pinwheeling wood-and-glass house on King’s Road (1922). Joseph Giovannini, New York Times, "In Three Famous Houses, Modern Living Unwinds," 28 June 2018

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

See More

First Known Use of emote

1917, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for emote

back-formation from emotion

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for emote

emote

verb

English Language Learners Definition of emote

: to express emotion in a very dramatic or obvious way

Keep scrolling for more

More from Merriam-Webster on emote

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with emote

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for emote

Spanish Central: Translation of emote

Nglish: Translation of emote for Spanish Speakers