

So, to properly say what you mean with ‘low-key’ and ensure it is read in the same way, be mindful of the context, but pay more attention to where you’re placing the word. However, for ‘Low-key’, both the premise of the conversation as well as the location of the term in a sentence is necessary to help get rid of ambiguity while articulating and understanding the term. Word placement is usually not a criterion for digital slang. This famous English criterion coming to life for slang But there’s another parameter while understanding and using low-key - the placement of the term. Low-key, too, depends on its context to convey the correct meaning. Every slang is contextual on social media. The term has a list of meanings on social media, each of them equally relevant to the current online connotation of low-key. Alongside being the slang definition of keeping a low profile, low-key also means subtlety, to a small degree, having/keeping a slow pace, and a state of being relaxed, carefree, and unnoticeable. It has its highs and lows.Įvery word or acronym that becomes slang always evolves in meaning. Though the slang had its peaking moment(s) and has stayed in the vernacular, ‘Low-key’ has had a fluctuating usage over time. Low-key officially became the latest social media slang on Twitter in 2015. The colloquial usage of the term began during the late 2000s and was used in both verbal and digital conversations alike.

The term also picked the connotation of measurement - defining slight, small amounts. During the 1800s, low-key was given the denotation of softness, mellowness, subtlety, and a state of being restrained or having restraint.Įventually, low-key grew with this literal meaning and gelled with the social media angle of looking at and using the term in reference to modesty and ease. Nevertheless, each definition has a significant if not exact reference to its basic meaning.Īfter being a soft, low key in the musical sphere, the term traveled to the part where it began meaning what it does today. ‘Low-key’ has always been part of our dialect - only, in every sphere of communication we’ve incorporated it, the term has picked up new meaning and inferences. So, when did the revised version get famous, what does it mean and how can you correctly use it so the people of the present generation don’t misunderstand you? The Story of Low-Key It has a whole new makeover, but with the same basics of ‘keeping it low’. Today, low-key’s mainstream definition deviates from all that it did before. However, the term didn’t always mean all that it does today, as slang.Ī few decades ago, low-key was denoted as tone of speech, and before that, a low musical note. ‘Low-key’ soon joined popular culture and made its way into our informal dialect. It is speculated to have begun its journey as a trendy colloquial term through rap lyrics of the time. Low-key began its journey as slang towards the end of the 2000s.

Loki is low-key the most gorgeous MCU character. Keep it low-key, okay? Geez, he’s low-key cute. The modern-day alternative to subtlety, secrecy, and slight amounts of anything!
