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TFW Stands for That Feel When

TFW is an online abbreviation that you can find on many social media platforms and memes. You can find countless memes on TFW on the World Wide Web. However, the main question remains unanswered. What is the meaning of TFW? What does it stand for? How did the acronym come from, and how to use it? Let us find out. 

What is the Full Form of TFW? 

The full form of TFW is ‘That Feeling When’. It is a meme that you will find on social networking websites. It is an abbreviation that you use to express an emotion. 

Generally, TFW adheres to a strict format. A sentence that starts with TFW is usually followed by a passionate picture. That can be an emotional picture or an emoticon that you can easily find on social networking websites. 

Usually, people use the word TFW to express something significant related to their life. For example, TFW when you discover that you are wearing two different shoes or that feeling when your boss finds you speaking to your boyfriend over the phone instead of working on the top priority project or that feeling when someone follows you on the road at night.

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Do You Always Have to Follow a Strict Format? 

There is no fixed rule or meme format that you have to follow always. The TFW itself implies that the post consists of an emotional context or message. So, the TFW may be self-explanatory. It means something in itself without any image or message. 

Sometimes, you bump upon a hateful or ridiculous Facebook post. You can give a reply to those posts with a simple TFW. Those who know the actual meaning of TFW will understand what you are trying to imply. It can be as if you are indicating that the post is bonkers. Again, if you receive a shocking message from your ex-boyfriend, then you can give a reply with TFW. You can also respond to a funny picture with TFW. 

Another Meaning of TFW

Some individuals believe that TFW means ‘that face when.’ It may be valid to some extent. 

In 2009, the 4chan music board (known as /mu/) began using the word MFW or ‘my face when.’ Strangely enough, the term MFW is used just like how people use TFW now. Individuals would post a funny picture of a face in a sentence such as MFW. 

At that point, the term ‘feel’ developed into something as ‘slang’ for the word ‘feeling.’ Memes such as ‘I know that feel sis’ began to spread across the world wide web during that period. It became a trend then. The ‘Feels Guy’ image became a rage on the Internet and the geek culture. 

The Feels Guy meme was mainly used to depict emotional situations, just like the MFW. However, while MFW generally represented disgust and awe, the Feels Guy meme was meant to describe the eerie feeling of dejection, shame, or doubt. 

The two ideas came together to become one-word TFW in 2010 or a year later. That was the time when TFW was officially introduced in the Urban Dictionary for the first time. 

The grammatical usage of the word has remained the same in the last nine or ten years. However, the meaning of the term has become broader. It is a helpful abbreviation for expressing your emotions in the web world. The Internet is the digital world where people are known for expressing their feelings in various ways. It is a place where you can express every kind of emotion in a myriad of ways. The TFW is just one of them.

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How Should You Use the Term TFW?

When you put TFW at the beginning of the sentence, the audience will automatically try to find an emotional meaning or image or context along with it. For example, you can say TFW there is no Internet connection in your home, and you have to attend a job interview online. Or, TFW, you are on a diet, and people eat ice cream in front of you. The audience will always try to extract an emotional meaning from the sentence. 

The TFW word is itself self-explanatory. So, the word itself is enough to express your reaction. However, TFW becomes more meaningful when you use the term along with a picture or GIF. 

You can upload any photo. However, if you want to convey your true feelings, use pictures of expressive faces (also known as emoticons). The more emoticons you will use in an image, the more convenient it will be for the people to understand the right emotional message from using the word TFW. 

It is not mandatory to use images or photos, or related words with TFW. But make sure you use the word for a situation that has an emotional angle to it. For example, if you use the word TFW in a discussion about cats, that does not make much sense. Does it? So, you have to understand the context of a conversation and then use the word to express your reaction. 

However, if someone sends you a dirty or hateful or insulting, or derogatory message, you can properly communicate your emotions. TFW may mean like go away from this message box, or how can you even think that I will give you a reaction to this kind of message?

TFW is the acronym of that feeling when. It is almost similar to the word FOMO or TGF. FOMO is the acronym of the word Fear of Missing out. Likewise, TGF implies Thank God It’s Friday. So, each word has a different meaning. When you use the word TFW, make sure you use it in the wrong connotation. Otherwise, the term will lose its essence. 

So, what are you waiting for? Explore the popular memes on TFW and start using them inappropriate situations. Use them on Facebook, Instagram, and other popular websites. Just make sure you do not overdo it. The word will use to lose its charm.

Amit Kumar

FreeEducator.com blog is managed by Amit Kumar. He and his team come from the Oxford, Stanford and Harvard. At FreeEducator, we strive to create the best admission platform so that international students can go to the best universities - regardless of financial circumstances. By applying with us, international students get unlimited support and unbiased advice to secure the best college offers overseas.

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