This guide will provide you with all of the knowledge you need on the acronym FR, including its meaning, appropriate use, example sentences, and more!
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Kevin
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March 4, 2021
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Common Questions
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What does the acronym FR mean?
According to Urban Dictionary, Cyber Definitions, and other dictionary apps, the internet slang acronym FR stands for “for real.” This term can be used in a variety of ways First, it can be used as a form of agreement. If someone makes a statement that somebody else agrees with, they can say FR to express this agreement. Secondly, one can add a question mark to the end of the abbreviation FR to ask if somebody is being serious, or to show their disbelief.
This term is commonly used on different social media sites and in text messaging. This term is considered an initialism and would usually not be spoken out loud. In an initialism, people pronounce each individual letter of the acronym. Therefore, FR would be pronounced “eff-are” and not “fur.” One was to say this acronym out loud, it would not save them any syllables and it would take the same amount of time to say “for real.” People use this acronym to save time when texting.
The abbreviation FR also has a variety of alternate meanings. However, these are far less common than the meaning “for real.” People should ensure that their meaning is clear when using one of these alternate definitions. Since the term so often stands for “for real,” one should exercise caution and ensure their context is clear when using one of these other meanings, from The Free Dictionary.
- French
- France
- Francium
- From
- Freshman
- Forgotten Realms (Dungeons and Dragons game)
- Federal Regulation
- Francais (French)
- Federal Republic
- Federal Reserve
- Flow Rate
- Franc (currency)
- Flat Rate
- Federal Register
- Friend
- Father
- Frame
- French Republic
- Formula Renault (racing)
- Frankfurter Rundschau (German Newspaper)
- Field Report
- Freitag (German for “Friday”)
- Frame Relay
- Functional Review
- Foregone Revenue
- Fireroom
- Force Revision
- Freeride (cycling, snowboarding etc.)
- Family Reunion
- First Responder (paramedic license for emergency services such as fire or police)
- Friend Request (social media)
- Failure Rate
- Flame Retardant
- Final Report (US Department of Defence)
- Financial Responsibility (casualty insurance)
- Fund Raising
- Frequency response
- Fast Response
- Full Resolution
- Full Rate (cell phone channel)
- False Recognition
- Forest Renewal
- Fauna Rescue of South Australia Inc.
- Faeroes
- Frater
- France (international car registration)
Is the term FR casual or formal?
The term FR is extremely casual and should only be used with friends and family in relaxed settings like via text message or on social media. This term is considered internet slang, and should never be used in professional or formal contexts like business emails, resumes, negotiations, letters, or other formal settings. Below is an example of a situation in which it is inappropriate to use the term FR, followed by a revised version of the same message.
In this example, Kevin has received an email from his professor Dr. Cavic that accuses him of plagiarism on an exam. Kevin replies to the email and tries to defend himself.
BAD:
Yo Dr. C,
U can’t be fr! I s2g I did not cheat on the exam, I wud never. IDK who told u that or what u saw but I promise I didn’t. I studied rly hard – I can even show u all the flashcards I made. Wat can I do 2 make u believe me???
K
GOOD:
Hi Dr. Cavic,
I must say, I am pretty shocked to be receiving this email. I can assure you, I would never cheat on an exam. I take your class and the topic of academic dishonesty very seriously. I am happy to show you all of the study materials I made for this exam; please let me know how we can work together to get past this, as I assure you, I did not and never would cheat on an exam or any other assignment. Thank you for your time.
Best,
Kevin
In this serious situation, though Kevin is in disbelief, he should still make sure that he uses proper grammar and email etiquette to show his professor that he understands the seriousness of the situation. Text slang and internet abbreviations are never appropriate in this formal setting.
What are synonyms for the abbreviation FR?
Slang It and Linguaholic both list alternate representations of the term “for real.” This can be used in the same way as the abbreviation FR. There are also a few other ways to show disbelief, listed below from Word Hippo Thesaurus.
- FRFR – For Real For Real
- 4RL
- FREALZ
- 4REALZ
- AYFR – Are You For Real
- RUS – Are You Serious
- SRS – Serious
- SRSLY – Seriously
- BST – But Seriously Though
- Are you serious?
- You must be kidding
- Unbelievable
- No way
- Seriously?
- Well I never
- You’re kidding
- Come on
- Whoa
How can the slang term FR be used in a sentence?
The term FR can be used either to express agreement or to express disbelief when coupled with a question mark via text message or on social media. In this first example, Trudy is talking to Charlie about the day at school that he missed.
Trudy: Charlie, you picked the wrong day to be out sick.
Charlie: OMG, FR? What happened?!
Trudy: There was a massive fight in the quad. The SWAT team had to come!
Charlie: FRFR?! WTH, of course this happens the one day I’m out sick.
Overall, the term FR stands for FR. This trending piece of internet slang is used to show agreement with a statement someone else has just made, or to express disbelief at said statement when a question mark is added onto the end. This term is commonly used in text messaging or over social media.
Sources:
- https://www.cyberdefinitions.com/definitions/FR.html#:~:text=%22For%20Real%22%20is%20the%20most,For%20Real
- https://linguaholic.com/linguablog/frfr-meaning/
- https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Fr
- https://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/FR
- https://slangit.com/meaning/frfr
- https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/another-word-for/are_you_serious.html
