This Is the Most 'Misunderstood' Emoji, According to Adobe

The cherries and upside-down smiley face also caused some confusion.

We all have our own interpretations of the emoji encyclopedia. Maybe the hands are praying. Perhaps it's a high-five. For most, it's just as subjective as art, but according to Adobe's latest study, no icon is more misunderstood than the cowboy.

Adobe's Future of Creativity trend report found that among Boomers, Gen X'ers, and Millennials, in particular, the cowboy has caused the most confusion. The cherries and upside-down smiley face followed shortly behind.

"Generationally, Boomers (24%), Gen X'ers (18%) and Millennials (14%) are less sure of cowboy hat face than Gen Z'ers (10%)," Adobe said in its report. 

Nearly half of US users said they used emojis differently than their intended use, while half of the participants also claimed to have sent an emoji that was ultimately misinterpreted. 

Of course, Gen Z—as the cutting-edge cool kids they are—seems to have things down pat. 93% of the generation said they feel up to date on the latest emoji meanings. Now whether they're actually using them correctly is another story. From that same pool, 74% reported using them differently than the intended meaning. To avoid confusion, we could always just stick to words? 

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Megan Schaltegger is a Staff Writer on the News team at Thrillist.