NGL

What does NGL mean?

NGL is "not gonna lie," the spoken warm-up to an honest remark, cut down to its initials. Dictionary.com labels it informal and says it is used especially online when someone is making an admission or a confession. Green's Dictionary of Slang glosses it with a single word: "honestly."

In practice ngl does two jobs:

1. It owns up. "ngl I skipped the reading" or "ngl I teared up" admits something a little embarrassing. TODAY's explainer gives the example of someone confessing they stared at a person's photo for half an hour.
2. It cushions. "ngl the sequel was kind of mid" puts a soft frame around a blunt opinion, much like "honestly" or tbh.

It can sit almost anywhere. At the start ("ngl, that's impressive"), at the end ("that was tough ngl"), or alone as a reaction. Capitals are optional; TODAY notes people write it both ways. The positive use is common too. "ngl this is the best pasta I've made" is pure bragging dressed up as candor.

Other meanings. In energy and finance, NGL means natural gas liquids. Dictionary.com lists that sense, and its example sentences include a 2023 Reuters quote from an oil executive and a 2025 Wall Street Journal mention of a company called NGL. There is also an app called NGL, covered below.

Examples

• Group chat after a concert: "ngl the opener was better than the headliner"
• Text to a friend: "ngl I forgot your birthday was today, I'm so sorry"
• Instagram comment on a friend's haircut: "ngl this is your best look yet"
• Study group: "ngl I have no idea what question 4 is asking"
• Gaming voice chat, typed after a loss: "they had us ngl"
• Coworker on Slack: "ngl I'm a little behind on the deck, can we push to 2?"
• Parent overhears: "ngl, Dad's chili is actually good"

The examples split almost evenly between confessions and opinions. Ngl leads more often than it trails, and it nearly always introduces something the speaker thinks you might not expect.

Where did NGL come from?

• Spoken first: "I'm not gonna lie" was a familiar way to start a frank sentence in casual speech long before it was abbreviated. No single person coined it, as TODAY points out.
• January to April 2009: TODAY reports that the abbreviation got its own Urban Dictionary entry in January 2009. Green's Dictionary of Slang's earliest citation is an Urban Dictionary example from April 5, 2009.
• September 2014: The abbreviation was showing up in newspapers. Dictionary.com quotes a Guardian article from that month that drops "ngl" mid-sentence while explaining that internet slang can be confusing.
• September 21, 2014: A local Austin TV station posted a postgame interview with high school running back Apollos Hester, whose team came back to win 42-41. His line, "they had us the first half, I'm not gonna lie," became a widely shared meme, according to Know Your Meme, and the clip passed 10 million YouTube views.
• 2021-2022: An anonymous question app named NGL launched in 2021. A July 2022 New York Times article, quoted by Dictionary.com, noted that the app's own site said the name stood for "not gonna lie."
• 2024-2025: Green's added a citation from Bluesky in January 2025, and TODAY published an explainer that August.

The NGL app

Parents sometimes hear "ngl" and think of the app, not the word. NGL ("ask me anything") let users share a link and receive anonymous messages. On July 9, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission and the Los Angeles district attorney announced a settlement with its maker, NGL Labs, as reported by The New York Times. The company was barred from serving anyone under 18 and agreed to pay $4.5 million to affected consumers, plus a $500,000 civil penalty. Regulators said the app sent fake anonymous messages to push teens toward a paid subscription and exposed them to cyberbullying.

If your teen types "ngl" in a text, it is the slang. If they mention "my NGL link," they mean the app.

Is NGL rude?

The word is not. There is no hidden swear in the letters, and a school would not care. What can be rude is the sentence after it. TODAY made the comparison to "no offense": announcing honesty does not excuse a hurtful opinion. "ngl your drawing is ugly" is still mean.

In a work message to someone you know well, ngl is usually fine. In a formal email, "honestly" or "to be candid" says the same thing.

How to reply to NGL

• A friend says "ngl I'm kind of jealous of your trip": "lol that's fair, I'll bring you something back"
• Your teenager texts "ngl I failed the quiz": "Thanks for telling me. Let's look at it together tonight."
• A coworker writes "ngl the new process is confusing": "Same here. Want to list the confusing parts and send them to Priya?"

Since ngl usually signals the speaker took a small risk by being honest, the kindest reply acknowledges the honesty first.

Is NGL still used in 2026?

Yes. It is past the trendy stage and into the permanent toolbox of texting, along with fr and lowkey. A close cousin, icl ("I can't lie"), does almost the same job. For the honesty family as a whole, start with no cap and the texting abbreviations guide.