“Rizz,” which is Gen Z slang for “style, charm, or attractiveness,” is chosen as Oxford’s 2023 Word of the Year. This word is used not only in social media platforms but also in everyday conversations. The word “Rizz” started in 2022 and became popular in June when actor Tom Holland said he doesn’t have much “rizz” in an interview. After that, the internet went wild with memes that shared the same feeling, making “rizz” famous online.
Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages notes that “Rizz” Shows how a word travels on digital communities. Even though Rizz won the title, there are some other interesting words on the list.
Even though “Rizz” won, there were other interesting words on the list. “De-influencing” means convincing people not to buy certain things, and the “beige flag” means someone is not very original. There were also words like “heat dome” talking about a kind of weather, and “parasocial” describing one-sided relationships with celebrities.
The public’s opinions played a big part in picking the Word of the Year. Last year, people on social media chose “Goblin Mode” with a huge 93 percent of the vote. Thinking about the last five years, words like “vax”, “climate emergency” and “toxic” were also important, along with “Goblin Mode”. As we say goodbye to 2023, “Rizz” represents the charm and style that made this year special.
