emoted; emoting

intransitive verb

: to give expression to emotion especially in acting
emoter 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, the parent word is emotion, which came to English by way of Middle French from the Latin verb emovēre, meaning "to remove or displace" (making the "removal" of the suffix -ion to form emote quite fitting). As is sometimes the case with back-formations, emote has since its coinage in the early 20th century tended toward use that is less than entirely serious. It frequently appears in humorous or deprecating descriptions of the work of actors, and is similarly used to describe theatrical behavior by nonactors.

Examples of emote in a Sentence

He stood on the stage, emoting and gesturing wildly.
Recent Examples on the Web Thanks to their advanced animatronics (and human controllers), the droids are able to emote and engage with visitors. Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Oct. 2024 Thomas expertly emotes it all, often needing only to use her eyes. Ebonie Walker, refinery29.com, 26 Sep. 2024 Proving his ability to emote was critical to Botha’s hiring; keeping feelings in check eventually proved just as important. Michal Lev-Ram, Fortune, 25 July 2024 But no amount of camouflage can hide Boutella’s uncanny ability to emote through her eyes — the evocative intensity of her gaze provides her lonely aliens, demonic princesses, and vengeance-seeking warriors with robust, unspoken motivations. Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for emote 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'emote.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from emotion

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of emote was in 1917

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near emote

Cite this Entry

“Emote.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emote. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

emote

verb
emoted; emoting
: to express emotion in or as if in a play
emoter noun

More from Merriam-Webster on emote

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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