A woman holds an Oxford English Dictionary.

Lucy Matthews

Walking past a group of girls, you see one of them shielding a photo from the rest. She’s protecting it with her life. You understand exactly what is going on here: the rizz card is the latest get-out-of-jail card.

The rizz card ensures a love interest won’t immediately be deemed unattractive by others. Even if they aren’t conventionally attractive, they make up for what they lack with buckets of so-called ‘rizz’.

It’s their rizz that does it for me…

Until now, many unfamiliar with rizz could sleep peacefully at night without knowing the latest buzzword. Well, sleep peacefully no more! This popular abbreviation, short for charisma, has been crowned 2023 Word Of The Year by Oxford Languages.

Some may say this demonstrates good ‘rizz’ from the Oxford Languages. Others might deem this to be the latest example of society crumbling. The majority of people are likely just confused.

What Is The Word Of The Year?

Back in 2004, Oxford Languages chose their first word of the year: ‘chav’. Since then, annual choices have ranged from serious environmental terms like ‘carbon footprint’ to controversial faux-therapy terms like ‘toxic’. Unsurprisingly, the top spot in 2020 was taken by ‘pandemic’.

The word of the year is chosen to reflect the mood, ethos, or preoccupations of society. The word doesn’t necessarily need to have been coined during the last twelve months, but must achieve prominence during that time. Oxford Languages focus on the UK and US in particular when looking at the popularity of words.

Oxford Languages aren’t the only organisation to choose a word of the year. Originally a German tradition, the American Dialect Society were the first group to choose an English word of the year, which was ‘bushlips’, in 1990. Last year, they elected ‘enshittification’. Other choices for 2023 include: hallucinate (Cambridge Dictionary), AI (Collins English Dictionary), and cozzie livs (Macquarie Dictionary).

Where Does Rizz Come From?

Last year, rizz emerged as a popular internet slang word. Defined as “style, charm, or attractiveness; the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner,” the word has been used for years in African-American Vernacular English (AAVE). YouTuber Kai Cennat is credited with introducing the word to his audience, as well as the gaming community, through livestreams.

Rizz is one of many words incorrectly referred to as “TikTok speak” or “Gen-Z speak,” which misappropriates Black culture. Other recent examples include ‘finna’ and ‘chile’, which have been taken from AAVE and frequently misused online. Attributing words taken from AAVE, as well as trends taken from Black culture in general, to Generation Z is a modern form of gentrification. Despite popularising the word, Cennat says it has been “butchered” by TikTok, so he no longer uses it.

However, TikTok is the main reason for rizz going viral. Use of the word increased dramatically in 2023, particularly on social media.

In June, the popularity of the word peaked when actor Tom Holland was asked in an interview whether he “had rizz.” The same interview now has over 1.4 million views.

What Other Words Made The Shortlist?

Don’t panic. If you don’t have any rizz, you already have something in common with Tom Holland. But you may also be a ‘beige flag’, a character trait or habit which makes you seem boring.

Beige flag is just one of the many words shortlisted by Oxford Languages for word of the year. It’s likely most of these will soon make their way into official dictionaries.

Although Swifties (Taylor Swift fans) have been around for decades now, the word was still considered due to its revived popularity. ‘Situationship’ (an informal or unconventional relationship) and ‘prompt’ (the type fed to an AI bot) were also shortlisted. Like rizz, the use of these words was tracked using the internet and their prevalence originates on social media.

Some of you may still be reeling from ‘goblin mode’ — the word of the year in 2022. In case you’ve forgotten, going goblin mode is a hedonistic, almost primal response to something. Think of when your pet gets the zoomies.

What Can We Learn From Rizz?

Rizz represents the power of Gen-Z when it comes to transforming the way the English language is used. Although the word was lifted from AAVE, the ability to add a new word to mainstream dialect in such a short period demonstrates the influential power of the younger generation.

Generation Z’s ability to adopt and spread words shows no signs of slowing down as many contenders for word of the year blew up on X, TikTok, and Instagram.

If we should take anything from this zingy phrase, it should be the power of language to define ourselves and others. And, while it can be a backhanded compliment, the rise of rizz demonstrates our ability to value personality and charm over superficial looks.

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Featured image courtesy of Houcine Ncib via Unsplash. No changes made to this image. Image license found here.

Hi! I am Lucy and I really enjoy writing funny, chatty pieces of writing. I am inspired by the likes of Byrony Gordon and Dolly Alderton- Their writing style is the best!

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