Emoji Glossary
Smiley emojis are among the most popular and most used emojis on social media, thus making them the most important to understand. They are classified as “Smiley’s” because most of them directly relate to a smiley face or some variation of that. It’s important to note that not everything in this category is a smiley or even a face. Because of this, we will also cover hand signal meanings and other miscellaneous smiley meanings.
To make things easier, we’ve broken up the main smiley emojis into these three categories:
Emoji: 😄
Name: Grinning emoji
Meaning: The grinning emoji is typically used to show happiness and contentment.
Emoji: 😃
Name: Smiley emoji
Meaning: Similar to the grinning emoji but with larger eyes, the smiley emoji conveys happiness, though it is one of the less popular smiley options.
Emoji: 😄
Name: Smile emoji
Meaning: Another classic emoji, this smiley face with closed eyes, is used to show happiness and agreeability.
Emoji: 😁
Name: Grin emoji
Meaning: The grin emoji is an elevated version of the other smile emojis. This one may be used to portray an extra amount of happiness or glee in a certain situation.
Emoji: 😆
Name: Laughing emoji
Meaning: This emoji is often used when people find something funny in conjunction with LOL or haha.
Emoji: 🥹
Name: Face holding back tears emoji
Meaning: This popular emoji is used to communicate something that makes a person so happy it makes them emotional.
Emoji: 😅
Name: Sweat smile emoji
Meaning: While the sweat smile emoji could be used to show actual sweat, say from a workout, it’s more commonly used when saying something risky or awkward.
Emoji: 😂
Name: Joy emoji
Meaning: Though this emoji is technically labeled ‘joy’, it is more often used for ‘cry laughing’ when something is really funny. It is historically one of the most used emojis.
Emoji: 🤣
Name: Rolling on the floor laughing emoji (ROFL)
Meaning: Similar to the joy emoji above, this emoji is used in humorous situations where you want to show how funny you think something is.
Emoji: 🥲
Name: Smiling face with a tear emoji
Meaning: While this emoji can be used to express joyous tears, it’s also commonly used to represent ‘smiling through the pain’.
Emoji: 😊
Name: Blush emoji
Meaning: The blush emoji is very similar to the relaxed emoji, just with a little extra bit of happiness and rosiness in the cheeks. Though it’s labelled ‘blush’ it can be interchanged with any other smile emojis.
Emoji: 😇
Name: Innocent emoji
Meaning: The innocent emoji is normally used in situations where someone is trying to appear blameless but is also used when asking someone for a favor.
Emoji: 🙂
Name: Slightly smiling face emoji
Meaning: Like the other smile emojis, the slightly smiling face emoji portrays happiness, but often feels a little more formal or appropriate in business settings than the others.
Emoji: 🙃
Name: Upside-down face emoji
Meaning: The upside-down face emoji is often the go-to expression when someone feels awkward or doesn’t know exactly what to say.
Emoji: 😉
Name: Wink emoji
Meaning: The wink emoji is one of the most flirty emojis in the catalogue. Often used in conjunction with a risky message or an inside joke.
Emoji: 😌
Name: Relieved emoji
Meaning: The relieved emoji is a sigh of relief personified, though it is also used interchangeably with some of the other regular smile emojis.
Emoji: 😍
Name: Heart eyes emoji
Meaning: One of the most popular emojis widely used when users adore something or find it visually appealing.
Emoji: 🥰
Name: Smiling face with three hearts emoji
Meaning: The smiling face with hearts emoji is used to show love and excitement about whatever you’re talking about or whoever you’re talking to.
Emoji: 😘
Name: Kissing heart emoji
Meaning: When someone sends this emoji, they’re sending a kiss. Depending on the situation, they are sometimes sent sincerely and other times sarcastically.
Emoji: 😗😙😚
Name: Kissing/kissing smiling eyes/kissing closed eyes emoji
Meaning: These kissing emojis without the heart can be used in a more casual sense or to portray the pursing of the lips for another reason.
Emoji: 😋
Name: Yum emoji
Meaning: This emoji can be used in a variety of ways, most commonly when something looks delicious or when someone is feeling silly.
Emoji: 😛😝😜
Name: Stuck out tongue/eyes closed/winking eye emoji
Meaning: The stuck out tongue emojis are used when someone is feeling particularly goofy or awkward.
Emoji: 🤪
Name: Zany face emoji
Meaning: The zany face emoji is most often used when someone is trying to show that they are ‘crazy’ or ‘going crazy’.
Emoji: 🤨
Name: Face with raised eyebrow emoji
Meaning: The face with raised eyebrow emoji is used when someone may question something or be suspicious.
Emoji: 🧐
Name: Face with monocle emoji
Meaning: Similar to the raised eyebrow emoji, this emoji portrays suspicion with the addition of a monocle to let someone know you’re looking closely.
Emoji: 🤓
Name: Nerd face emoji
Meaning: This emoji is most often used when someone says or does something smart or ‘nerdy’.
Emoji: 😎
Name: Sunglasses emoji
Meaning: The sunglasses emoji can be used literally when talking about sun protection or subtly allude to being cool or calm.
Emoji: 🥸
Name: Disguised face emoji
Meaning: This emoji is for scenarios where someone may be saying or sharing something risky and wants to share the illusion of a disguise.
Emoji: 🤩
Name: Starstruck emoji
Meaning: The starstruck emoji is for scenarios where something unbelievable or amazing is happening.
Emoji: 🥳
Name: Partying face emoji
Meaning: The partying face emoji is perfect for any type of party or celebration.
Emoji: 😏
Name: Smirk emoji
Meaning: The smirk emoji is most often used when saying something on the cheeky or flirty side.
Emoji: 😒
Name: Unamused emoji
Meaning: The unamused emoji is most commonly used when someone is displeased or annoyed by the way something is handled or said.
Emoji: 😞
Name: Disappointed emoji
Meaning: This emoji goes beyond just sadness; it portrays disappointment and defeat.
Emoji: 😔
Name: Pensive emoji
Meaning: Similar to the disappointed emoji, the pensive emoji holds a lot of emotion and is used in situations where someone wants to show sadness.
Emoji: 😟
Name: Worried emoji
Meaning: Though this is labeled the worried emoji, it is also used in cases of shock and awe.
Emoji: 😕
Name: Confused emoji
Meaning: The confused emoji is used when someone is unsure of what is going on or how to react.
Emoji: 🙁
Name: Slightly frowning face emoji
Meaning: This frowning emoji is a classic sad face emoji used in unhappy scenarios or situations.
Emoji: 😣
Name: Persevere emoji
Meaning: The persevere emoji is similar to the disappointed and pensive emojis, with a little more added stress. This emoji conveys stress and uncomfortability.
Emoji: 😖
Name: Confounded emoji
Meaning: The confounded emoji is most often used when something unbelievable and usually negative or gross happens.
Emoji: 😫😩
Name: Tired face/weary emoji
Meaning: The tired and weary emojis are used to show exhaustion and an overall ‘doneness’ with a situation. They are sometimes also used in a pleading scenario.
Emoji: 🥺
Name: Pleading face emoji
Meaning: The pleading face emoji is used when someone really wants something or is ‘begging’ for something in a sad way.
Emoji: 😢
Name: Cry emoji
Meaning: The cry emoji is a classic emoji that represents something sad and cry-worthy.
Emoji: 😭
Name: Sob emoji
Meaning: Over the years, the sob emoji has transformed into many different things. It is mostly used to show crying very hard over something and can be sad or happy tears.
Emoji: 😤
Name: Triumph emoji
Meaning: The triumph emoji is most often used when someone overcomes a situation or wants to come off as ‘tough’.
Emoji: 😠
Name: Angry emoji
Meaning: This classic emoji shows someone being angry or annoyed. This emoji is often associated with ‘cute aggression’ and similar themes.
Emoji: 😡
Name: Rage emoji
Meaning: The rage emoji is for situations where someone is feeling very angry.
Emoji: 🤬
Name: Face with symbols on mouth emoji
Meaning: This emoji is a level above the rage emoji as it showcases even more anger with the use of symbols indicating cursing.
Emoji: 🤯
Name: Exploding head emoji
Meaning: The exploding head emoji is for situations where someone is feeling ‘mind-blown’ or sees something unbelievable.
Emoji: 😳
Name: Flushed emoji
Meaning: The flushed emoji perfectly portrays shock and awe. This emoji is most often used when you can’t believe something you’ve seen or read.
Emoji: 🥵
Name: Hot face emoji
Meaning: The hot face emoji is used to portray someone who is sweating, someone who is physically hot or even a reaction to something that is hot.
Emoji: 🥶
Name: Cold face emoji
Meaning: The cold face emoji is used to show that something is freezing and can also be used when someone is acting ‘cold’.
Emoji: 😶🌫️
Name: Face in clouds emoji
Meaning: This emoji portrays someone wanting to disappear or wanting to watch but not be seen.
Emoji: 😱
Name: Scream emoji
Meaning: The scream emoji shows immense fear and often a reaction to something scary or surprising.
Emoji: 😨😰
Name: Fearful/cold sweat emoji
Meaning: The fearful and cold sweat emoji are similar to the scream emoji but a little more subdued in how they show their fear.
Emoji: 😥😓
Name: Disappointed/sweat emoji
Meaning: These emojis are used when someone is feeling particularly stressed, nervous or anxious about a situation.
Emoji: 🤗
Name: Hugging face emoji
Meaning: Like giving a virtual hug, the hugging emoji is used to show gratitude and that you are there for someone.
Emoji: 🤔
Name: Thinking face emoji
Meaning: The thinking face emoji is used when someone is contemplating something whether it be an answer to a question or how to react to a situation.
Emoji: 🫣
Name: Face with peeking eye emoji
Meaning: This emoji is often used when someone says something risky and is afraid of the response or when seeing something they shouldn’t.
Emoji: 🤭🫢
Name: Face with hand-over-mouth emoji
Meaning: This emoji can be seen as suppressing laughter, keeping quiet or even keeping a secret.
Emoji: 🫡
Name: Saluting face emoji
Meaning: The saluting emoji is used when someone knows what is expected of them or is handling a situation with seriousness.
Emoji: 🤫
Name: Shushing face emoji
Meaning: As it would suggest, the shushing emoji is when someone is trying to stay quiet or keep someone quiet, usually with secrets.
Emoji: 🫠
Name: Melting face emoji
Meaning: The melting face emoji is used in situations where someone doesn’t know how else to react and may feel like melting away is their only option.
Emoji: 🤥
Name: Lying face emoji
Meaning: This emoji is used either when someone is lying or they suspect someone else might be.
Emoji: 😶
Name: No mouth emoji
Meaning: The no mouth emoji is for situations where someone feels like they have no words or they shouldn’t say anything.
Emoji: 🫥
Name: Dotted line face emoji
Meaning: This emoji portrays someone who is here, but is also not. It may be used when someone is on the fence about a situation or doesn’t want to be perceived.
Emoji: 😐
Name: Neutral face emoji
Meaning: While this emoji is labeled ‘neutral’, it is often used in situations where someone is unimpressed or doesn’t know what to say.
Emoji: 🫤
Name: Face with diagonal mouth emoji
Meaning: The face with the diagonal mouth emoji is for scenarios where someone is upset or unimpressed by something that was said or done.
Emoji: 😑
Name: Expressionless emoji
Meaning: While this is technically ‘expressionless’, this emoji is most often used when someone is annoyed and has nothing to say.
Emoji: 😬
Name: Grimacing emoji
Meaning: The grimacing emoji is one of the most used emojis and applies to situations where someone might feel awkward or uncomfortable.
Emoji: 🙄
Name: Face with rolling eyes emoji
Meaning: The rolling eyes emoji is most commonly used when someone is feeling bothered by something someone has said or done.
Emoji: 😯😦😧😮😲
Name: Hushed/frowning/anguished/open mouth/astonished emoji
Meaning: Every variation of this type of emoji shows some level of light shock and is used when you can’t believe what you’ve seen or read.
Emoji: 🥱
Name: Yawning emoji
Meaning: While the yawning emoji technically refers to sleep, it is more often used to reflect boredom or disinterest in something.
Emoji: 😴
Name: Sleeping emoji
Meaning: The sleeping emoji is used when someone is tired or going to sleep.
Emoji: 🤤
Name: Drooling face emoji
Meaning: The drooling emoji can be and is most often used in relation to food or people that people like.
Emoji: 😪
Name: Sleepy emoji
Meaning: While this emoji is labeled ‘sleepy’, it’s more typically used as a response to being sad or distressed.
Emoji: 😮💨
Name: Face exhaling emoji
Meaning: The face exhaling emoji is mainly used in two ways. The first is to portray relief and the second is to show blowing smoke.
Emoji: 😵
Name: Dizzy face emoji
Meaning: This dizzy face emoji is more often used to show death than dizziness due to the x’s over the eyes.
Emoji: 😵💫
Name: Face with spiral eyes emoji
Meaning: This emoji is used to show dizziness but also a feeling of being overwhelmed by a situation and not knowing how to react.
Emoji: 🤐
Name: Zipper mouth face emoji
Meaning: This emoji relates to ‘my lips are sealed’ and is usually used after receiving information that you will not share with others.
Emoji: 🥴
Name: Woozy face emoji
Meaning: The woozy face can be used when feeling unwell but is often used when someone feels weird or unbalanced by a situation.
Emoji: 🤢🤮
Name: Nauseated face/vomiting emoji
Meaning: Besides using these emojis to illustrate the obvious, they can also be used to show displeasure or disgust over a scenario.
Emoji: 🤧
Name: Sneezing face emoji
Meaning: The sneezing emoji can be used to portray sickness, sadness and even in some situations ‘crocodile tears’.
Emoji: 😷
Name: Mask emoji
Meaning: The mask emoji has become especially popular as of late. This emoji conveys the importance of masking up or wanting to take your space.
Emoji: 🤒
Name: Face with thermometer emoji
Meaning: This emoji is usually used only for illness, particularly sickness with a fever.
Emoji: 🤕
Name: Face with head bandage emoji
Meaning: The face with the head bandage emoji is for when someone wants to show they are injured. The injury can either be physical, mental or emotional.
Emoji: 🤑
Name: Money mouth face emoji
Meaning: This emoji is used in scenarios where money is a part of the conversation, especially when money is being made, earned or spent.
Emoji: 🤠
Name: Face with cowboy hat emoji
Meaning: The face with the cowboy hat emoji portrays country activities but also someone who is looking to have fun and not take things too seriously.
Emoji: 🫶
Name: Heart hands emoji
Meaning: The heart hands emoji is used to show love and appreciation.
Emoji: 🤲
Name: Palms out together emoji
Meaning: This emoji mimics holding your hands out ready to receive something. Because of this, people may use this emoji when asking for something or a favor.
Emoji: 👐
Name: Open hands emoji
Meaning: The open hands emoji can indicate that you are ready to receive something or that you’re putting your hands up in surrender.
Emoji: 🙌
Name: Raised hands emoji
Meaning: The raised hands emoji is one of the most popular emojis and is used to show appreciation, thanks and celebration.
Emoji: 👏
Name: Clap emoji
Meaning: The clap emoji is often used to emphasize a point and is also commonly used as a form of celebration.
Emoji: 🤝
Name: Handshake emoji
Meaning: The handshake emoji is a response to making a deal or agreeing. It is also used often to connect two separate points.
Emoji: 👍
Name: Thumbs-up emoji
Meaning: The thumbs-up emoji indicates a simple yes.
Emoji: 👎
Name: Thumbs-down emoji
Meaning: The thumbs-down emoji indicates a simple no.
Emoji: 👊
Name: Face punch emoji
Meaning: The face punch emoji can signify a desire to either harm you or give you a friendly fist bump.
Emoji: ✊
Name: Fist emoji
Meaning: The fist emoji is often used to depict solidarity, especially in relation to movements where the raised fist is an important symbol.
Emoji: 🤛🤜
Name: Left/right-facing fist emoji
Meaning: The left or right-facing fist emojis are used to represent a virtual fist-bump.
Emoji: 🤞
Name: Crossed fingers emoji
Meaning: The crossed fingers emoji is a typical response when someone hopes something does or does not happen.
Emoji: ✌️
Name: Peace sign emoji
Meaning: The peace sign emoji is used to represent ‘good vibes’ and occasionally as a goodbye.
Emoji: 🫰
Name: Hand with index finger and thumb crossed emoji
Meaning: This emoji and gesture is known as a finger heart and is used to express love or affection.
Emoji: 🤟
Name: I love you emoji
Meaning: This emoji means I love you.
Emoji: 🤘
Name: Rock on emoji
Meaning: This emoji is often used in conjunction with music and concerts.
Emoji: 👌
Name: Okay hand emoji
Meaning: The okay hand emoji is another way of communicating that you are OK or happy with something.
Emoji: 🤌
Name: Pinched fingers emoji
Meaning: This emoji is commonly used as a substitute for the 'chef's kiss,' indicating that something is exceptionally good.
Emoji: 🤏
Name: Pinching hand emoji
Meaning: While the pinching hand emoji can be used to refer to pinching someone, it can also relate to ‘how close’ someone is to something.
Emoji: 🫳🫴
Name: Palm down/up hand emoji
Meaning: These emojis demonstrate having your hand open to receive something or the opposite.
Emoji: 👈👉
Name: Point left/right emoji
Meaning: The point left or right emojis direct the viewer to a different focal point or piece of information.
Emoji: ☝️👆👇
Name: Point up 2/down emoji
Meaning: These emojis are commonly used to direct attention to content either above or below them in a message.
Emoji: ✋🖐️🤚🫲🫱
Name: Hand, hand splayed, back of, leftwards, rightwards hand emoji
Meaning: These emojis can represent a high five or display either the palm or back of your hand.
Emoji: 🖖
Name: Spock hand emoji
Meaning: The Spock hand or Vulcan salute emoji means ‘Long live and prosper, friends’.
Emoji: 👋
Name: Wave emoji
Meaning: The wave emoji is used to say hello or to get someone's attention.
Emoji: 🤙
Name: Call me hand emoji
Meaning: This emoji can be used to ask someone to make a call or to illustrate ‘hang ten’ and other surfer-related lingo.
Emoji: 🖕
Name: Middle finger emoji
Meaning: This emoji means exactly what you think it means.
Emoji: ✍️
Name: Writing hand emoji
Meaning: The writing hand emoji can be used to show you’re busy or that you’re taking notes.
Emoji: 🙏
Name: Pray emoji
Meaning: The pray emoji is versatile and widely used to depict prayer and when requesting something or expressing gratitude.
Emoji: 🫵
Name: Index pointing at the viewer emoji
Meaning: With this emoji interacting directly with the viewer, it’s often used to place responsibility and grab attention.
Emoji: 😈
Name: Smiling face with horns emoji
Meaning: Usually referred to as the smiling devil emoji, it’s used in scenarios where someone feels as though they are doing something ‘bad’ but feels good or devious about it.
Emoji: 👿
Name: Frowning face with horns emoji
Meaning: The frowning devil emoji is typically used to indicate awareness of a bad or negative situation.
Emoji: 👹
Name: Japanese ogre emoji
Meaning: This emoji depicts a Japanese orge called oni and represents something monstrous, scary or ugly.
Emoji: 👺
Name: Japanese goblin emoji
Meaning: The Japanese goblin emoji portrays a tengu, which is meant to be a proud and arrogant trickster.
Emoji: 🤡
Name: Clown face emoji
Meaning: The clown emoji is a very popular emoji often used by someone to show themselves or someone else as a ‘clown’ after a certain behavior.
Emoji: 💩
Name: Poop emoji
Meaning: While this emoji can obviously mean one thing, it can also be used as a reflection of how someone is feeling or how they feel about something.
Emoji: 👻
Name: Ghost emoji
Meaning: The ghost emoji is used in the exact way you would expect it to be, most commonly to portray disappearing, being spooky and even being ‘ghosted’ or doing the ‘ghosting’.
Emoji: 💀
Name: Skull emoji
Meaning: The skull emoji has become a more used version of the ‘joy’ or ‘cry laughing’ emoji, with many people using this emoji to depict something so funny that they are ‘dead’.
Emoji: ☠️
Name: Skull and crossbones emoji
Meaning: This emoji is used to depict death and/or dying and does not have many other use cases or meanings.
Emoji: 👽
Name: Alien emoji
Meaning: The alien emoji is extremely popular as it represents otherworldliness and is often used in conjunction with other space-related emojis.
Emoji: 👾
Name: Space invader emoji
Meaning: While this emoji is technically labeled as a ‘space invader’, it’s more often used to portray technology, specifically with video game content.
Emoji: 🤖
Name: Robot face emoji
Meaning: Like the space invader emoji, the robot face emoji is most commonly used when talking about technology and electronics. It can also be used in situations where someone is being ‘robotic’.
Emoji: 🎃
Name: Jack-o’-lantern emoji
Meaning: This emoji is most commonly used around Halloween to add a bit of seasonality to a post.
Emoji: 😺😸😹😻😼😽🙀😿😾
Name: Smiley, smile, joy, heart eyes, smirk, kissing, scream, crying pouting cat emoji
Meaning: These cat emojis have the same meaning as their smiley counterparts; they are more often used by people who really like cats or when someone is referring to their animal.