Cursed Emojis: Unleash Your True Self 🤬 With The Art Of Emojis 😐
Frequent users of DeviantART, Twitter, and Tumblr caused the fame of the cursed emojis we see on social media. More people learned about almost all existing cursed emojis when people compiled sets for those who requested commissions in July 2019. Back then, we usually encountered these eerie icons on sites focused on memes.
At that time, we didn’t have a lot of emojis on commonly used platforms. We also end up customizing memes made from cursed emojis to further express what we want to post. Because of this, most of us jumped on the trend of incorporating cursed emojis in almost anything online.
Like most people on social media platforms, you can’t help but follow trends when sharing or composing posts. With the rising fame of emojis, several social media users hoped for the representation of emotions and gestures. For more expressive posts, we can’t help but look to memes to provide us with funny and relatable images and illustrations.
Digital designers and creators eventually combined the fame of memes and emojis and gave birth to the cursed emojis we know today. You can now find some of the expressive illustrations in your preferred emoji keyboards. Examples of these include the 😳 Flushed Face emoji and the 😭 Loudly Crying Face emoji.
To learn more about the creepy-looking yet fun icons, check out our detailed list below.
Cursed Emojis: Background And Uses
Image from Imgflip Meme Generator
Cursed emojis rose to fame in 2019 after several social media users searched for commissions. However, not a lot of people knew that these unusual icons were already widely used before their sudden rise to fame. Most of the scary-looking smileys we encounter on social media come from these trends.
Because of its popularity, you might recognize the design of some cursed emojis in your preferred emoji keyboard. Fact or not, some of the recent additions look a lot like the “cursed” expressions we see or use. They eventually evolved into more exaggerated versions of famous emojis. In truth, the fame of cursed emojis led to the birth of two types of these disturbing icons.
Express Yourself With Cursed Emojis
The first type of cursed emojis centers on using exaggerated expressions with yellow smileys. Expression-based cursed emojis hail as the earliest variations we see and use online. Creators came up with the designs due to the absence of such expressions on the roster of available emojis. Before, common yellow smileys only revolved around happiness, sadness, and anger. Due to the lack of options, we can’t help but look forward to the endless expressions depicted in the “cursed” memes.
Creators helped users post about complex emotions like boredom or tiredness. Despite their deranged appearance, expression-based cursed emojis offer a clearer perspective of online social media posts. Thanks to its rising fame, we can now use smileys with emotions displaying shock, shyness, disgust, and so much more. Later on, we added the description of the expressive cursed emojis like the Stressed emoji and the Powercry emoji.
Combining Memes And Emojis
Hybrid cursed emojis are the second type of “cursed” expression we encounter online. True to its name, hybrid cursed emojis came to fruition after you combined eerie-looking emojis with known memes. No matter what wording you use to describe them, these hybrids usually depict their intended meanings.
Unlike expression-based cursed emojis, the Hybrids cannot be used for anything other than what they mean. You must know about the background of the memes and emojis associated with the combinations. Without it, your followers might misinterpret your intentions. The Crazy Face emoji is an example of this type of cursed emoji.
😐 Stressed Emoji
Image from Imgflip Meme Generator
Among all the cursed emojis, the stressed emoji appeared the most on all social media platforms. In truth, its fame gave birth to several hybrid cursed posts. When the creepy icons reached viral status on social media, several versions of the stressed emoji came with disturbing sounds and animations. People used what creators shared to react to various posts on social media platforms like Twitter and Tumblr.
If you often use Skype, the stressed emoji’s design may seem familiar to you. One of the famous versions of this cursed icon came from an edited image of Skype’s animated smiling emoji. The creator captured a still moment of the yellow smiley right before it completes its smile. The wide-set eyes and forced-looking smile make it look like a stressed smiley. However, the most readily available version of the stressed emoji displays a set of bloodshot eyes. If you want to incorporate this cursed emoji in chats, we suggest you use the 😐 Neutral Face emoji. You may also stay true to the wide eyes of the original Stressed Emoji by adding the 👀 Eyes emoji.
Screen-Reaching Emoji
Image from Imgflip Meme Generator
The Screen-Reaching emoji belongs to the Hybrids due to its overall appearance. It depicts a combination of the screen-reaching hands and the stressed emoji. Unlike most of the cursed stressed emoji, this hybrid only uses the version with bloodshot eyes. When you use it on posts, you either want to say “You Think You’re Safe?” or “Hand Them Over.” Due to its hybrid status, it’s impossible to find an alternative to current emojis.
😭 Powercry Emoji
Image from Imgflip Meme Generator
Originally, the Powercry emoji gained fame for being a variation of the shy emoji. However, its features eventually lead to the design of an exaggerated crying face. At first, the shy emoji appeared with eyes like those of the 🥺 Pleading Eyes emoji. The wide and teary-eyed look sometimes led to a gif that cried.
Once people started using the erratic crying face, the Powercry emoji garnered fame by itself. This caused us to stop associating the cursed emoji with the shy emoji. Later on, the release of the 😭 Loudly Crying Face emoji replaced the fame of the image on social media. In March 2021, the emoji was hailed as the most popular emoji used on Twitter.
😳 Shy Emoji
As we mentioned earlier, the Shy emoji comes in different variations. We can’t pinpoint its exact origin but its fame gave birth to several versions. Like the Powercry emoji, the different versions of the shy emoji became viral on social media with their own names. The famous versions include faces with blushing cheeks or large teary eyes.
Thanks to Emoji Version 1.0’s 2015 additions, the shy cursed emoji users can now use similar icons instead of images. Like the shy emoji, the 😳 Flushed Face emoji stands out with its blushing cheeks. If you want to seem embarrassed in online chats, you may also use the 😶 Face Without Mouth emoji.
Xok Emoji
Image from Imgflip Meme Generator
In 2004, the scary sharp teeth of the Xok cursed emoji graced social media platforms. Creators fashioned the meme after the Pac-Man computer virus. Also known as Pac-Man Ransomware, the cryptovirus famously encrypts files and forces victims to comply with instructions. Because of this, users describe Xok as a god-like creature.
Unlike other cursed emojis, you can’t use an alternative Xok emoji with your emoji keyboard. The famous meme features Pac-Man with bulging almond-shaped eyes. Its sharp teeth and freckled tongue come out in full display because its mouth is wide open. Because of this design, we can’t imagine how it can become part of our emoji keyboards. The overall surreal design might be too complex for emoji developers.
Crazy Face Emoji
Image from Imgflip Meme Generator
Believe it or not, the Crazy Face emoji belongs to the group of hybrid cursed emojis. It came to fruition after combining the expression of an extreme close-up shot of a crazed anime meme. Some say it’s also a zoomed-in shot of an angry anime character. These known versions ended up getting edits in emoji form.
If you want an alternative to using these cursed emojis, you may find alternatives in emoji keyboards on most platforms. However, we discourage you to use the 😳 Flushed Face emoji despite its similarities to the cursed icon. Instead, you may use the 🤬 Face with Symbols on Mouth emoji. This version may not be as famous as the straight-faced closeup but it’s clearer in chats. Another alternative you can use is the 😂 Face with Tears of Joy emoji. It may display the same angry-looking eyebrows, but you can switch it up with your message’s content.
🥺👉👈 “Is For Me?” Emoji Set
Image from Imgflip Meme Generator
The characteristics of the “Is for me?” emoji set makes it a member of the Expression-based cursed emojis. Unlike other cursed icons, you can easily find this variant’s alternative in your favorite emoji keyboard. You can choose whatever order as long as the 🥺 Pleading Face emoji and the two pointing fingers remain.
When using this emoji set, you probably hope to express something you like or hope to get. The “Is For Me?” meme or emoji set usually gains popularity during the Christmas season. Aside from revealing gifts you hope to receive, the cursed emoji may also symbolize things you admire.
Fuckboy Emoji Or Baseball Cap Lip Bite Emoji
Image from Imgflip Meme Generator
Among all the cursed emojis in our list, the Fuckboy emoji seems to annoy most people online. The emoji’s overall design showcases the famous pose of younger guys on social media. Because of this, we commonly use this icon to mock the taste of men who like the expression.
Unlike most Expression-based cursed emojis, you cannot find an alternative to this proud-looking expression. Instead, just stick to using a saved image when you want to send it to someone. Its features appear to be an edit of Apple’s 😬 Grimacing Face emoji. The creator edited the left eye to make it wink while applying a lip bite on the mouth. The final touch lies in the classic “fuckboy” trope that wears a black backward baseball cap.