Aura (Slang)

About

Aura is a slang term that was popularized online in 2023 and 2024, often used to compliment men for their charisma or presence. The term first grew prevalent in soccer and basketball communities on X / Twitter, likely due to people commending Liverpool player Van Dijk for his "aura." Memes about people's "auras" continued to spread in 2024, as seen in the Can You Be Fat and Still Have Aura and Level 1 Aura. Jokes about gaining and losing "aura points" also notably spread on TikTok in May 2024.

Origin

Use of the term "aura" is often associated with Liverpool center-back Van Djik, with a New York Times^[1] article from October 2020 reading, "Van Dijk’s mistakes can be dismissed because, basically, he has an aura." Memes about Dijk's "aura" were shared on X^[2] in early 2022, as seen in a March 8th, 2022, post by @_Hammad7 (seen below).

The use of the word "aura" as a stand-alone compliment continued to be used in soccer and basketball communities online in subsequent months. On January 28th, 2023, X^[3] user @blondedcartier tweeted, "'cold' and 'aura' tweets kill me just say he's attractive with your chest bro," gathering over 11,000 likes in a year.

On April 2nd, TikToker^[4] @ralfmolotokas posted a video about Dijk defending with his "aura," gathering over 2.6 million plays and 400,000 likes in a year (seen below).

Spread

On March 30th, 2023, X^[5] user @amitttrmfc asked, "What is “aura”," received a video response from @YeMoments^[6] that gathered over 80,000 likes in a year.

pic.twitter.com/6qeGas4vqt https://t.co/U2ik0nPj2L

— YM 🐻 (@YeMoments) May 30, 2023

In late 2023, "aura" came to be used to describe people outside of soccer communities, with some people using the phrase "four letter word beginning with A." On September 28th, 2023, X^[7] user @ibeastIess used the phrase to describe a wrestler, gathering over 4,000 likes in eight months (seen below).

In 2024, the use of the term "aura" in memes unrelated to sports rose exponentially. On April 16th, TikToker^[8] @jonybrony posted a video titled, "Guy obsessed with having aura," gathering over 2.6 million plays and 400,000 likes in a month (seen below, left).

On May 8th, 2024, TikToker^[9] @etcestok posted a video about gaining and losing aura points through social interactions, gathering over 1.6 million plays and 140,000 likes in a week (seen below, right)>

Related Memes

The Most Amount of Aura I’ve Used on a Level 1

The Most Amount of Aura I’ve Used on a Level 1, also known as Probably the Most Amount of Aura I’ve Used on a Lvl 1 Crook, refers to a TikTok trend in which people use their "aura" on inferior subjects often called a "crook," "peasant" or "low vibration being." The physical representation of using aura was either putting a hand out to signal "stop" or kissing the subject's head. The trend started in early 2024.

Can You Be Fat and Still Have Aura

Can You Be Fat and Still Have Aura, spelled Can U Be Fat and Still Have Aura, refers to a catchphrase and image caption trend based on a viral X / Twitter post asking the question. The format, which involves combining the phrase with images of fat characters and celebrities who possess a certain vibe, coolness or je ne sais quoi, gained virality on X in late March 2024.

Weak Aura vs. Strong Aura

Weak Aura vs. Strong Aura is a series of memes, often ironic, where the traits of someone with a weak aura as opposed to a strong aura are presented, the former under a dark silhouetted figure and the latter under a glowing figure. The meme first appeared on Instagram in 2018 and became popularized throughout the 2020s as users photoshopped the listed items.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References