Slang dictionary
turnt
or turnt up
What does turnt mean?
Turnt means extremely excited, wild, or drunk. It can refer to a person鈥檚 state of mind, or to an atmosphere, such as at a party.
Where does turnt come from?
Turnt and turnt up begin as a slang term in African-American English meaning 鈥渆xcited,鈥� 鈥渁drenalized,鈥� or 鈥渋ntoxicated,鈥� as the online hip-hop dictionary the Right Rhymes defines it. The term, though especially associated with drugs, alcohol, and sex at a crazy party, has broadened to mean 鈥渁 state of being wild.鈥�
Turnt originates, according to slang lexicographer Jonathon Green, from turn up, as in to turn up the heat/volume, an expression that means 鈥渢o act wildly at a party.鈥� Linguist Neal Whitman explains that how it鈥檚 said (and later, spelled) reflects a systematic rule in African-American English. Turnt first appeared on Urban Dictionary in 2005 for 鈥渉orny鈥� and 鈥渄runk,鈥� and it debuted on Twitter in 2008.
The term has notably appeared in hip-hop music. The Right Rhymes finds turnt and turnt up in the New Boyz September 2009 track 鈥淭urnt,鈥� which features the line: 鈥淚鈥檓 so turnt up that I鈥檓 talking backwards like Yoda.鈥� The term also appeared in a track by Snoop Dogg later that year, and as the title of a track by Lupe Fiasco, a song less about intoxication than self-confidence, suggesting turnt鈥檚 range of meanings.
Turnt is similar to the word crunk, also slang for 鈥渂eing excited鈥� or 鈥渋ntoxicated.鈥� It鈥檚 so similar, in fact, that hip-hop artist Roscoe Dash called turnt a 鈥�2010 crunk鈥� and featured it in his hit song that year, 鈥淎ll the Way Turnt Up.鈥�
Examples of turnt
Who uses turnt?
Turnt up is most often used as an adjective, so a person can get turnt, and a party can be turnt or turnt up. It could also be used as a noun. A turn up can also refer to a party or other event where one might get turnt up.
Turnt was nominated in 2014 for TIME鈥檚 annual Worst 亚洲网紅露点s poll, where users of the magazine choose one word they鈥檇 like to see banished. It鈥檚 been pointed out that the poll often disproportionately targets words used that have been appropriated from African American slang, which points to a troubling bias that TIME readers hold against terms coined by young black people.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of turnt like most terms we define on 亚洲网紅露点, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of turnt that will help our users expand their word mastery.