Meanings
- uncountableA style of hardcore punk known for emotional and introspective lyrics.First known use 1986
“Clarity” was a pivotal album for Jimmy Eat World, the first to feature Jim Adkins on lead vocals instead of Mr. Linton and the last to reflect the heart-on-sleeve values of emocore more than the hard gleam of pop-punk.
2009 February 25, Nate Chinen, “Years Later, an Appeal to Heart and Head”, in New York Times1 more example
There's a new form of performance occuring out in Washington, D.C. It goes by the name of Emo-Core or Emotional Core. Bands like Embrace (featuring Ian McKaye), Rites of Spring, Beefeater, among others, are taking the severe intensity of an emotional projection and adding it totally into their respective live sets.
1986 January 1, “Notes From the Underground”, in ThrasherSynonyms: emotive hardcore, emotional hardcore
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA style of hardcore punk known for emotional and introspective lyrics.
Origin
Clipping of emo(tional) + -core. The word emo is first attested later, in 1988.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
emocore. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/emocore
“emocore.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/emocore. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “emocore,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/emocore.
Source: emocore on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.