Word
FOMO
/ˈfoʊmoʊ/
Definition
n. Stands for Fear Of Missing Out. The feeling of anxiety that other people are having fun or experiencing good things without you.
n. Abbreviation for Fear Of Missing Out. A pervasive apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent, often exacerbated by social media.
Examples
“Social media often gives me serious FOMO.”
“She checked her phone constantly during the dinner, driven by a nagging sense of FOMO about the party she had skipped.”
“The digital age has institutionalised FOMO, as curated online personas create an illusion of constant excitement that leaves the observer feeling perpetually excluded.”
Examples
simple
“Social media often gives me serious FOMO.”
contextual
“She checked her phone constantly during the dinner, driven by a nagging sense of FOMO about the party she had skipped.”
complex
“The digital age has institutionalised FOMO, as curated online personas create an illusion of constant excitement that leaves the observer feeling perpetually excluded.”
Real-World Examples
“Chatterjee said the fear of missing out, or FOMO, may play a role.” Etymology
Initialism of fear of missing out, a phrase from social psychology and internet culture.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/fomo