emoticon

/ɪˈmoʊtɪkɑn/
noun
  1. A small picture or sequence of keyboard characters (like :-) ) used in electronic messages to show the writer's feelings.
    • In the chat, he used a crying emoticon to express his sadness.
    • She ended her text with a smiley emoticon to show she was joking.
    • The email felt cold because it had no emoticons to soften the tone.
Synonyms
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