From selfies to carbon footprint, many words we now use on a daily basis were once chosen as Oxford’s word of the year. “Rizz” is the next one in line, but what does this buzzy term actually mean and how did it earn Oxford’s coveted honor?
According to Oxford’s press release, having “rizz” means commanding attention and having a whole lot of charisma, and here’s how they defined this word:
“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.”
According to Oxford’s report, the use of this word has increased dramatically in 2023, especially after Tom Holland’s viral interview in June, after he said “‘I have no rizz whatsoever.” The buzzy term even got Merriam-Webster stamp of approval, and was one of 690 new words added to the renowned dictionary back in September.
“Rizz” had to beat tough competition to be named Oxford’s word of the year. The list of finalists also included such words as prompt (an instruction given to an AI program), situationship (a relationship that is not considered to be formal or established), and Swiftie (an enthusiastic fan of Taylor Swift). Words beige flag, de-influencing, heat dome, and parasocial made it to Oxford’s shortlist for 2023.
