Acronym
What does IMO mean?
In my opinion: a cushion before the take, sometimes sincere, sometimes a humility performance.
Definition
IMO flags that what follows is not fact. IMHO (in my humble opinion) adds a humility the rest of the sentence often contradicts. In chat, the acronym avoids sounding like a decree. In a thread, it becomes a tic. The cousin is IMHO in caps in the middle of a paragraph in another language.
Origin
English from email and forums, 1990s–2000s.
History
From Usenet to WhatsApp, where it still appears mid-sentence.
How it emerged
The internet needed an opinion stamp that fit in three letters.
Usage examples
IMO the new record is the worst.
IMHO, but without the humble.
Translations
- pt IMO / na minha opinião
- en IMO
- es IMO / en mi opinión
Synonyms
- in my opinion
- I think
- IMHO
Acronyms
- IMO
- IMHO
Related terms
Questions
What does IMO mean?
In my opinion. It marks what follows as a take, not a fact.
And IMHO?
In my humble opinion. Same job, with extra humility that is not always true.
Required?
No. Many people use it to soften a hard judgement.