What does Copium mean on Twitch? Copium definition explained
One of the latest slang words to take Twitch chats and social media by storm is “copium”. This is commonly used on forums such as Reddit, as well as Twitter and any other corner of the internet that contains banter and comments. As a result, searches for the copium definition have sky-rocketed in recent years.
Staying down with the kids is tough at the best of times, so don’t feel ashamed if this modern language is going over your head. Here’s the rundown of everything you need to know, with the copium definition and an explanation of where this came from.
What does Copium mean?
The word “copium” is a portmanteau mixture of “cope” and “opium”, used to denote a fictitious drug that is taken by someone who has suffered extreme disappointment and is attempting to deal with it (ie, cope).
In context, this is generally used as a derogatory term to describe someone trying to rationalise an inconvenient truth. For example, if someone is beaten fair and square in a gaming competition but they start trying to blame it on RNG, power-ups or cheats, then this may be considered their coping mechanism. In such a scenario, the Twitch chat would likely be inundated with users alleging the consumption of “copium”.
It can also be appropriate when someone is trying hard to look on the bright side by finding apparent positives that are considered a stretch. For instance, a highly anticipated game ends up being a huge disappointment, but some players try to convince themselves that it isn’t that bad due to certain factors that they excessively praise to the point they appear inauthentic.
Another popular example in gaming is “Genshin copium”, where players try and cope with the gacha mechanics of Genshin Impact working against them. If they spend money to try and pull out a character or item they want, only to be bitterly disappointed, they may try to convince themselves the outcome wasn’t that bad, or use the item/character excessively despite it being inferior to the other options.
Whilst the word is often used to make fun of someone, it can also be used in a self-deprecating way, where somebody may admit they are taking copium to stomach a sinking disappointment.
Copium Overdose and Super Copium definition
A related term occasionally used is “copium overdose”, which effectively has the same meaning but suggests the rationalisations have been taken to the extreme. It’s actually been Tweeted by chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen in response to Chess player and streamer Hikaru Nakamura supposedly quitting the game. Ironically, Magnus Carlsen’s later defeat to Hans Niemann led to a cheating scandal where some accused Magnus Carlsen himself of taking copium after his thinly-veiled allegations that Niemann may have broken the rules.
There is also a meme titled “Super Copium”, which essentially has the exact same definition where Pepe the Frog is depicted inhaling an extreme concentration of the fictional drug.
What does Hopium mean?
In a similar vein, “Hopium” is now a commonly used term that denotes a level of unfounded optimism towards something that has not earned it.
Again, this is generally used in a derogatory context to mock somebody who is seen as having false hope and cannot see the reality that their faith is misplaced. For instance, a player being continually let down by the releases in a series but insists things will turn around next time when the rest of the fanbase take a more realistic or pessimistic viewpoint.
What does Mopium mean?
Finally, we have “mopium”. This isn’t as frequent, but can be used in a similar context to describe someone who is excessively moping.
Repeatedly complaining and generally seeing the most negative side of everything may lead to an allegation of mopium, used similarly to “black pill” where someone is so convinced things are irreversibly against them that they give up all sense of hope.
Examples of Copium
The allegation that someone is taking copium is often accompanied by a meme of Pepe the Frog inhaling from a canister labelled ‘Copium’ as per the main image above. However, on Twitch and social media this is usually just a comment.
Aside from some political examples we’ll cover below, here are a couple of examples of copium being used in the culture:
- In the 9GAG link here, a user responded to a thread titled ‘Working men don’t have abs’ with the Pepe the Frog copium meme, essentially suggesting this logic is a means of coping with their own lack of abs.
- During a Dota 2 ESports international competition, a panel brought out a cannister of “Copium” to deal with the fact that the final American team, Evil Geniuses, had been defeated.
Where did Copium come from?
Although this word is now prominent in gaming and mainstream cultural circles, its origin was more prevalent within politics and current affairs, where it – predictably – emerged on 4chan.
Some point to the first usage of the word in 2005 as the title of a music album by rap artist Keak da Sneak, but this was certainly not the thing that broke it into wider consciousness. In reality the first time “copium” was consistently used within the culture was in the aftermath of the 2016 US general election, where Donald Trump triumphed over Hilary Clinton, leading to conservative voters ribbing Democrat supporters for their allegations of Russian collusion.
Four years later, when the 2020 eventually went in favour of Joe Biden, the memes went the other way with Donald Trump and his supporters on the wrong end of the ridicule. This time, the political left targeted Trump’s insistence that the election was stolen due to voter fraud.
Wherever you stand politically, both sides of the aisle have had opportunity to accuse the other of taking copium, and these high-profile examples have ultimately led to widespread use of the term and its connected memes.
Hopefully with our copium definition and copium examples, you should have everything you need to understand the usage of the word, and use it appropriately yourself if the situation calls for it.
