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Face Holding Back Tears Emoji

Holding back tears () means grateful overwhelm, touched sadness, or proud emotion you're trying not to cry about — a 2020s breakout emoji. Copy below.

Quick answer

means grateful overwhelm or touched sadness — holding back tears at something beautiful or bittersweet. Copy below.

Quick information

Emoji

Unicode name

FACE HOLDING BACK TEARS

Code point

U+1F979

Decimal

129401

Category

smileys & emotion

Shortcode

:face-holding-back-tears:

CLDR keywords

admiration, aww, back, cry, embarrassed, face, feelings, grateful, gratitude, holding, joy, please, proud, resist, sad, tears

Unicode version

14

Holding Back Tears emoji meaning

Context decides which reading applies. These are the most common uses in 2026.

Grateful / touched
Most common

Happy tears held back.

e.g. This means so much

Sad but composed
Most common

Emotional but not sobbing.

e.g. I'll miss you

Proud moment
Most common

Watching someone succeed.

e.g. So proud

vs 🥺
Literal

🥹 is teary gratitude; 🥺 is pleading cute.

e.g. vs

vs 😭
Literal

🥹 holds it in; 😭 lets it out.

e.g. vs

Wholesome content
Most common

Reaction to sweet posts.

e.g. This video

Bittersweet goodbye
Most common

Leaving with emotion.

e.g. Last day

Weddings / events
Most common

Ceremony feelings.

e.g. Beautiful

Cute pet posts
Most common

Overwhelmed by cuteness.

e.g. Look at them

Gen Z favorite
Platform-specific

Very common 2023+.

e.g. I'm fine

Comment reaction
Most common

Under emotional content.

e.g. Reply:

Unicode
Literal

FACE HOLDING BACK TEARS.

e.g. U+1F979

Build a combo

Add this emoji and related ones to your combo tray, then copy the full sequence from the bar at the bottom of the page.

Platform designs

The same Unicode character renders differently on each platform. Reference previews use Twemoji where vendor artwork is unavailable — your device may show a different design.

Apple

Renders with Apple Color Emoji on iOS and macOS.

Reference preview (Twemoji)

Google

Noto Color Emoji on Android and Chrome.

Apache 2.0

Samsung

One UI emoji style on Galaxy devices.

Reference preview (Twemoji)

Microsoft

Fluent emoji on Windows 11.

Reference preview (Twemoji)

WhatsApp

WhatsApp uses its own emoji set.

Reference preview (Twemoji)

X (Twitter)

Twemoji-style rendering on X.

CC BY 4.0

OpenMoji

Open-source OpenMoji design.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Holding Back Tears emoji copy and paste

Click any variant to copy. Use stacks for extra emphasis in comments and captions.

Holding Back Tears emoji combinations

Pair with other emojis to sharpen your message. Copy any combo in one tap.

With pleading
Very popular

Common pairing with pleading emoji.

Meaning guide

With crying
Very popular

Common pairing with crying emoji.

Meaning guide

With smiling-hearts
Popular

Common pairing with smiling-hearts emoji.

Meaning guide

With relieved-face
Popular

Common pairing with relieved-face emoji.

Meaning guide

Doubled
Niche

Extra emphasis.

Meaning guide

Doubled
Niche

Extra emphasis.

Meaning guide

Doubled
Niche

Extra emphasis.

Meaning guide

Doubled
Niche

Extra emphasis.

Meaning guide

Doubled
Niche

Extra emphasis.

Meaning guide

Holding Back Tears emoji examples

Real phrases people use. Tap to copy the full line.

Text message
iMessage
Instagram caption
Instagram
X / Twitter reply
X
WhatsApp
WhatsApp
Snapchat
Snapchat
TikTok comment
TikTok
Slack reaction
Slack
Discord
Discord
Casual email
Email
Social bio
Instagram

Holding Back Tears emoji caption & message ideas

Phrases that pair naturally with . Tap the copy icon to grab any example line.

holding back tears

Emotional

e.g. holding back

wholesome

Touching

e.g. wholesome

I'm not crying

Denial joke

e.g. not crying

so proud

Pride tears

e.g. proud

touching

Moved

e.g. touching

bittersweet

Mixed feelings

e.g. bittersweet

emotional

Feels

e.g. emotional

aww

Cute sad

e.g. aww

People also ask

Common questions about the holding back tears emoji, answered clearly.

Holding Back Tears emoji complete guide

History, usage, and context — everything beyond a quick copy-paste.

Holding Back Tears emoji overview

Holding back tears () means grateful overwhelm, touched sadness, or proud emotion you're trying not to cry about — a 2020s breakout emoji. Copy below.

Copy instantly using the buttons on this page. Search for more emojis on our homepage keyboard.

How to use it

The holding back tears emoji appears in texting, social media comments, captions, and reactions. Match tone to your relationship and platform.

When meaning is ambiguous — especially across generations — add a few words so your intent is clear.

Unicode and technical details

Unicode assigns every emoji a code point. The Holding Back Tears emoji () is part of the Unicode Standard and works anywhere Unicode emoji are supported.

Developers can reference the code point in HTML, CSS, and programming languages using the quick-info fields above.

Platform and generational notes

Emoji appearance varies by platform — Apple, Google, Samsung, and others each render their own design.

Generational context matters for many smileys: younger users often assign ironic or slang meanings that older readers may miss.

When to choose a different emoji

If your message could be misread, pair the emoji with a short phrase or pick a clearer alternative from the related emojis section.

Professional or formal contexts may call for words instead of faces — especially for ambiguous reactions.

Platform and audience

The same emoji reads differently on TikTok comments, Instagram captions, iMessage, and work Slack. Match tone to who will see it.

When meaning could be misread — especially across generations — add a few words alongside the emoji.

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