Oxford’s Word of the Year 2023 is 'Rizz'. What does it mean?

The Oxford University Press, the publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary, has announced its Word of the Year for 2023 – “rizz.”

It was one of eight terms selected from a shortlist to capture the mood, ethos, or themes of the year.

The ultimate selection was decided by a group of experts at OUP after the list was narrowed down through public voting.

Let’s take a closer look at what the internet slang means.

What does the word mean?

The slang term "rizz" is frequently used to characterise someone's charm and flirtatiousness, particularly when it comes to their verbal interactions with a potential love partner.

The word can function as a verb or a noun, depending on the context.

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For example, people with "rizz" are typically regarded to be attractive or desirable due of their charismatic communication style. Even if you don't think that individual is attractive, that can still be the case.

Sayings like "to rizz up," which implies you want to charm or flirt with somebody, can employ it as a verb.

According to OUP, the word is thought to be a condensed version of the word charisma, drawn from its middle. Similar instances include influenza, also known as the flu, and the refrigerator turning into a fridge.

It's popular on the internet and frequently connected to Generation Z.

How the term became popular?

According to Dictionary.com, live streamer and YouTuber Kai Cenat popularised the word around 2021.

This year, the word has become more especially after June, when Buzzfeed interviewed Hollywood actor Tom Holland asking about the secret of his rizz.

He replied, “I have no rizz whatsoever. I have limited rizz," adding he used the "long game" to win Zendaya over as his girlfriend.

This year, the dating app Tinder debuted a "rizz-first redesign" in an attempt to attract a younger user base, repoted The Hill.

Why it has been chosen as Word of the year?

Oxford University Press said in a release, “Rizz was chosen by the language experts at OUP as an interesting example of how language can be formed, shaped, and shared within communities, before being picked up more widely, It speaks to how younger generations create spaces ­— online or in person — where they own and define the language they use.”

Although "goblin mode," Oxford Languages' word of 2022, struck a chord with a lot of people during the pandemic, Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages, noted that "it's interesting to see a contrasting word like rizz come to the forefront."

According to BBC, he believes the term might have referenced “a prevailing mood of 2023, where more of us are finding confidence in who we are and opening ourselves up after a challenging few years.”

The increasing usage of the term "rizz," according to Grathwohl, is evidence that terms and expressions originating from internet culture "are increasingly becoming part of day-to-day vernacular."

This year’s picks also included beige flag, Swiftie, de-influencing, prompt, heat dome, situationship and parasocial.