Word.ws English Dictionary

goblin mode

goblin mode noun: the state of being unapologetically lethargic, slovenly, and prone to odd and self-indulgent behaviour.

Noun

goblin mode (uncountable)

  1. (neologism, slang) The state of being unapologetically lethargic, slovenly, and prone to odd and self-indulgent behaviour.
    • Mac and cheese, vodka soda, and 90 Day Fiancé. Truly my PEAK of goblin mode2019 September 20, dr. ovi (@jirtenergy), Twitter
    • Although many people tweeting about goblin mode have characterized it as an almost spiritual-level embrace of our most debased tendencies, Marnell says there is “healthy goblin mode and destructive goblin mode”. For her, it embodies a certain air of harmless mischief.2022 March 14, Kari Paul, “Slobbing out and giving up: why are so many people going ‘goblin mode’ ?”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 07 Mar 2023

Examples of goblin mode in a sentence

  • With employees prepping to flock back to the office amid easing COVID restrictions, many are faced with the same dilemma — how to switch off “goblin mode” now that they’re around other people.2022 March 14, Ben Cost, “Workers face ditching slobbish ‘goblin mode’ as they return to office”, in New York Post, archived from the...
  • One argument is that some people who live with mental health issues or have disabilities are living in "goblin mode" not by choice but rather due to circumstance.2022 April 2, Kalhan Rosenblatt, “'Goblin mode' is becoming part of people's everyday vocabulary. Language and meme experts share why.”, in...

Forms of goblin mode

alternative formgoblinmode

Origin of goblin mode

From modern fantasy depictions of goblins as filthy, brutish, cave-dwelling creatures, a departure from older folkloric traditions introduced by J. R. R. Tolkien in The Hobbit (1937). The term is first attested on Twitter in 2009, but gained popularity in 2022. Compare god mode, boymode.

Questions about goblin mode

What does goblin mode mean?
Goblin mode means the state of being unapologetically lethargic, slovenly, and prone to odd and self-indulgent behaviour.
How do you use goblin mode in a sentence?
With employees prepping to flock back to the office amid easing COVID restrictions, many are faced with the same dilemma — how to switch off “goblin mode” now that they’re around other people.
What part of speech is goblin mode?
Goblin mode is a noun.

Words near goblin mode in the dictionary

  1. goblets
  2. gobletsful
  3. goblette
  4. goblettes
  5. goblin
  6. goblin mode
  7. goblin shark
  8. goblin sharks
  9. goblin spider
  10. goblin spiders
  11. goblincore

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: goblin mode (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “goblin mode.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/goblin_mode. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.