【anticipatory eroticism】

If you think about it,anticipatory eroticism just about any emoji can be horny. Context is everything, people are endlessly creative (especially in the pursuit of sex and sexy people), and let's face it, if it exists, it's sexy for someone, somewhere. And as someone who has dug through each new emoji set since 2019 to find the additions that may have spicy potential, I know all too well that a little imagination goes a long way.

But there are some emoji that are, almost without exception, purely horny. These are the emoji that have you cringing when your mother uses them in the family group chat; the ones that take a DM conversation from casual to "screenshot and send to four different friends". These are the horny emoji, ranked.

14. Lip Bite

This abomination should not exist. As I explained upon its debut, it is the most explicitly horny emoji ever created, and also the least sexy. I am yet to see it used in any context other than mocking its naked desperation. Zero stars.

13. 🍆 Eggplant

This gets your point across and all (if your point is "I have a boner hurr hurr" or you're on Gray Sweatpants TikTok), but it's been memed and merched into oblivion. There are so many other penis-shaped emoji that could take its place — don't you think it's time to let the eggplant just be… an eggplant?

12. 🤤 Drooling face

That tilted eyebrow and blissed-out expression, the visceral drip — this is the face of someone reduced to pure lizard brain by lust. But there's something inherently offputting about it. For me, a millennial poisoned by pop culture, it might be its visual proximity to Homer Simpson's drool face, and the accompanying noise. Your mileage may vary.

11. 🥺 Puppy dog eyes

Pleading can be sexy — have mercy, sir/ma'am/my non-binary overlord! It can also be the pictogram equivalent of putting asterisked roleplay actionsin a message.

10. ♏️ Scorpio

They know what they did.

9. 👀 Eyes 

For when you're looking respectfully. Yes, it also means side-eye — but sometimes just need to convey that you have been reduced to a slavering, bug-eyed Tex Avery wolf.

8. 🕳 Hole

Does what it says on the tin.

7. 😈 Smiling Face With Horns

The cheeky devil! The combo of the simple smile and the scheming eyebrows just screams "I'm going to do stuff to you", and anticipation is, after all, the purest joy. Yes, it can get a little Kubrick Stare. Use with caution — and intention.

6. 😉 Winking Face

While extremely literal — and context-dependent for effectiveness — this is a classic.

5. Pregnant

Many a horny person has found this to be an IRL consequence of said horniness. It's especially useful as a response to content with an alpha/dom vibe, for reasons we do not have time or space to unpack here.

4. 💦 Droplets

Sex is (or at least should be) wet. This emoji, which I can only ever think of as "sploosh", acknowledges that.

3. 😏 Smirking face

This guy gets it. Winkier than the wink, subtler than the hot face, works in both serious and humorous contexts. Most importantly, it's one of the least cringey ways possible to make an ambiguously saucy statement or question unambiguously saucy.

2. 🍑 Peach

Unlike the eggplant, this is still good. Whether you're appreciating an especially good Close Friends IG story or suggesting your lover avoid dairy before your date night, this elegant little stonefruit perfectly encapsulates the beauty of the butt. 

1. 🥵 Overheated Face

Has anyone ever actually used this in relation to literal temperature? It's like the winky face and the fire emoji in one, suggesting hotness so overpowering you're having a physical reaction to it. Very horny, very flattering, very good.