Depending on your phrasing and messaging tone, this emoji can be used in a number of unique ways. The most common usage is to express deep worry over a situation. Let’s say you have just had a test - the test results could mean something very important to you. Messaging your friends, this is most likely the emoji you would use to express your anxiety. The face can also be great for expressing sadness at a piece of news or social media post. In the case of feeling unwell or just general sickness, this emoji is also perfectly adequate. Let’s say that your friend group is planning a night out, but you really aren’t feeling special - perhaps you ate a dodgy burrito for lunch. You could certainly use the emoji in this situation, but for politeness sake - it’s probably best to include a few explanative words.

Downcast Face with Sweat was approved in Unicode 6.0 and eventually added to Emoji 1.0. The same update brought us Grinning Face, Winking Face and Blowing a Kiss Face.