Kevin
March 11, 2021
Common Questions
Have you ever wondered what the abbreviation MRW means? This article will provide you with all of the info you need on the slang term MRW, including its definition, usage, synonyms, sentence examples and more!
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According to Dictionary, Online Slang Dictionary, and Urban Dictionary, the abbreviation MRW stands for “my reaction when.” This abbreviation is often the start of a sentence that is followed by an image, GIF, or video that shows what someone’s reaction would be to a certain thing. For example, someone might posta GIF of a child crying and throwing a temper tantrum with the caption, “MRW we’re out of chips.” This would imply that said person throws a temper tantrum or wants to throw a temper tantrum after discovering that they are out of chips.
According to Know Your Meme, the abbreviation MRW is a colloquial phrase similar to “my face when” or “MFW,” that was first used on 4chan message boards to discuss how a user might respond to a given situation. This meme has grown greatly in popularity; the trending acronym is commonly seen on social media sites like Twitter, Tumblr, Snapchat, and TikTok. The phrase first began appearing on 4chan in 2009, and the first Urban Dictionary entry for the term was posted in 2010.
Also in 2010, a website was founded that was dedicated to the collection of popular reactions and memes containing MFW and MRW. This domain was called MyFaceWhen.com. Websites like Reddit also began to see subreddits or sub forums dedicated to my face when and my reaction when threads in 2011.
The meme MRW and MFW are also related to the “relatable post” style of meme. These showten “my face when” and “my reaction when” down to a simple “when” or “when you” to begin the sentence. This style of meme has grown in popularity and is very commonly seen on websites like Twitter or in SMS text messages accompanied by a GIF or image.
According to The Free Dictionary and Acronym Finder, the acronym MRW can also stand for a number of other things aside from “my reaction when. HOwever, these definitions are far less common. One should exercise caution when using one of these other meanings of MRW, because the reader may not know what you are talking about. Always be sure to provide proper context when you are using an acronym that might have more than one meaning.
The abbreviation MRW is considered extremely casual and should only be used in informal situations. This abbreviation is appropriate to use on social media, when texting someone you are friends with, or potentially when casually instant messaging a coworker. However, this term is not appropriate to use in professional formal settings like business emails, professional statements or presentations, negotiations, or letters. One should be sure to maintain an air of professionalism and use the appropriate vernacular for different situations.
The acronym MRW is most commonly seen on social media and in SMS text messaging. This is used to create humor or to joke with someone over text. This is exclusively used in text based conversations would never be spoken aloud because there would be no picture to accompany the sentence.
In the below example, Nikita and Hannah are talking about their junior prom, which took place the night before.
Hannah: Dude, how was your night?! I feel like I didn’t see you at all after Jordy took you out onto the dance floor.
Nikita: LOLLLLL, let’s just say my night did not go as expected. MRW my date ditches me on the middle of the dance floor:
Nikita sends a GIF of a princess crying.
Hannah: OMG what?!?! Why didn’t u come and find me! We could’ve had an amazing night, I didn’t have a date anyway!
Nikita: I know, I was just really bummed out. I didn’t want anyone to know, so I just called my mom to come pick me up. We had a little movie marathon, pigged out, and I went to bed early LOL. All in all, not a bad night. But next year, I am definitely just going with friends.
Hannah: OMG totally. No tears at senior prom!
Nikita: No way Jose!
Here, Nikita uses the abbreviation MRW to begin the sentence where she tells Hannah that her date ditched her on the dance floor. She then sends an GIF, or moving image, of a princess that is crying. Therefore, she is telling Hannah that her date ditched her on the dance floor and her reaction was to burst into tears.
The closest synonym for MRW is MFW, which stands for “my face when.” This term can be used interchangeably with the acronym MFW and they began to be used on sites like 4chan around the same time, when the first reaction memes became popular. Sometimes people also use TFW, which stands for “that feeling when.” Now, most people cut both the “my face” and “my reaction” from the beginning of their memes and simply go with “when,” “when I,” or “when you.”
Overall, the acronym MRW stands for my reaction when. This term is used at the beginning of a sentence and is accompanied by a photo or GIF to compare someone’s reaction with a given image. This meme format is popular on social media sites like Twitter as well as in SMS text messaging.
