What does the melting face emoji 🫠 mean?

The meaning of most emojis is pretty clear just by looking at them. For example, when the pandemic hit in 2020, usage of the emoji showing a mask over a face 😷 went through the roof. But that’s not always the case. When the melting face emoji 🫠 appeared in 2021, it wasn’t so obvious what it was meant to be depicting. So what does the melting face emoji mean?

There are actually several use cases for the melting face emoji, and they usually depend on the context. Like many emojis, sometimes you feel it makes sense to use it, even if you can’t immediately verbalize why. Let’s take a look.

What does the melting face emoji mean?

The melting face emoji can be used to explain something physical like the temperature, or it can give the recipient an insight into how you’re feeling about a situation. Here are some examples of when it might make sense to use the emoji.

Being very hot

When the weather is extremely warm, and you’re stuck somewhere without respite, it can feel like you’re going to melt. The emoji is a way to convey this, along with the classic hot face emoji 🥵.

• “Having a great time in Mexico, but I’m struggling a bit in the heat! 🥵🫠”
• “Not a great time for the air-con in my car to break. 🫠”

Feeling embarrassed or ashamed

This is arguably the best use case for the emoji. The smiling face indicates that you’re pretending everything is fine on the outside while slowly wanting to melt into the floor and hide from the world.

• “OMG! I sent that last message to my dad instead of you! 🫠”
• “My date last night was really awkward. We ran out of things to say almost immediately 🫠”

Having a sense of dread or feeling overwhelmed

Another time you sometimes just want to disappear into the floor is when you’re anxious about something that’s about to happen or if you’ve just got way too much on your plate. The emoji can suggest that you’re going to put a brave face on when things start to go wrong.

• “I’ve got 45 minutes to finish this essay and still have 1,000 words to write…. 🫠”
• “My boss read the report. He wants to see me first thing tomorrow. Not good! 🫠”

Sarcasm

In the same way that the upside-down emoji 🙃 suggests that what you’re saying isn’t serious, the melting face emoji could convey sarcasm. The smiling face combined with the distorted features could indicate a sense of mockery about your message.

• “Hope you enjoyed my partner’s cooking last night. He does his best 🫠”

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