Oxford University Press, one of the world’s oldest publishers and the printer of the Oxford English Dictionary, is making waves with its choice for 2023’s word of the year: “Rizz.”
Short for “charisma,” the word—favored by Gen Z and its younger counterpart, Gen Alpha—beat out other viral slang favorites, including “Swiftie” (a fan of Taylor Swift), situationship (“a romantic or sexual relationship that is not considered to be formal or established”), and prompt, defined as an instruction given to an artificial intelligence program, algorithm, etc.
“2023 marked the era of personal–and professional–PR. And what does it take to command attention? A whole lot of charisma, or the shortened form, ‘rizz’,” OUP wrote in a release announcing their decision.
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“Pertaining to someone’s ability to attract another person through style, charm, or attractiveness, this term is from the middle part of the word ‘charisma’, which is an unusual word formation pattern. Other examples include ‘fridge’ (refrigerator) and ‘flu’ (influenza).”
Oxford University Press also noted that use of the term skyrocketed online in June 2023 after a viral interview with Hollywood actor Tom Holland, in which he said he said: “I have no rizz whatsoever, I have limited rizz.”
Words that garnered honorable mention from the publisher included beige flag, de-influencing, heat dome, and parasocial.
