Why do people say lol

The word lol crossed over into what I'd call post-ironic common parlance some while ago now. So most of us are coming into a decade of using the phrase, maybe it's about time it retired? Language changes after all. But replacing it with the incomprehensible mkljiohjbjbyugygjknms of TikTok Gen Zers, we're just not sure, with all that already has thrown at us, is something we can do.

So, does using LOL make us old now? Are we now the mad aunties in the WhatsApp chat, who use emojis the wrong way and used to think that LOL actually stands for lots of love? Is that Is this the moment, we realise we're Lollllll, nooooo. We're millennials. Because LOL is a slang term , its appropriate for casual conversation and not formal settings.

Grammatically, LOL is classified as a verb and an interjection , or a word that expresses strong emotion. But, some say LOL out loud sarcastically or when making fun. The meaning of LOL is laugh out loud or laughing out loud. LOL is appropriate for casual conversations online or in text messages. Use this abbreviation when you find something funny. Even if you just smile or giggle, you can still use LOL. More and that a bit later. The most common meaning of LOL is laugh out loud.

When you use LOL , the majority of people will understand it to mean laugh out loud and not lots of love. Less common uses of LOL include lots of love and lots of luck. However, these two uses might be considered old-fashioned or outdated.

To avoid a misunderstanding or seeming sarcastic, we recommend only using LOL to mean laugh out loud or laughing out loud. Just make sure you use LOL during appropriate times.

LOL is generally not appropriate for more formal settings like at work or at school. There are no hard grammar rules for the capitalization of LOL. You can also add extra letters to LOL.

Some people do this to show they find something hilarious. LOLZ also expresses sarcasm, but some texters use it when they are genuinely amused. Some people also use LOL to be passive-aggressive. For example, you might see this kind of sarcastic LOL when someone makes a self-deprecating comment or bashes an ex.

LOLZ was created for this purpose. However, many people still prefer to use the traditional version of the word. These two can be a little stronger than LOL and are definitely not appropriate for formal settings. Other LOL alternatives are haha and hehe. The funnier you find something, the more letters you can add, as in hahahahaha or hehehehehe. Similarly, you could just forget words all together and go with one or multiple crying laughing emojis??.

Check our in-depth post about LMAO meaning. The acronym often appears in World of Warcraft and other online games. But even if you accept this view and make peace with "LOL" as a spoken word, one problem remains. Is it pronounced "loll" or "lole" or "ell-oh-ell"? Are you, like, really from a council estate [a public housing project]? Nate is a senior editor at Ars Technica, where he covers technology law, politics, and culture.

He holds an MA in English literature from the University of North Carolina, where he also taught freshmen how to craft sentences, think clearly, and use semicolons. Surprisingly, the semicolons proved most difficult. Read more.