‘Rizz’ chosen as Oxford’s Word of the Year for 2023
The Oxford University Press (OUP), the world’s largest university press and publisher of one of the most popular dictionaries, has crowned the colloquial noun “rizz” as the Oxford Word of the Year for 2023.
Derived from “charisma,” “rizz” refers to a person’s “style, charm or attractiveness; the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner,” the OUP said in its announcement on Dec. 4.
The OUP added that it can also be used as a verb, such as in the phrase “rizz up,” which means to attract or seduce a person.
It received more than 32,000 votes from the public and language experts selected the word among four finalists from a shortlist of eight words that reflected the prevailing “mood, ethos, or preoccupations” of the past year. It bested the words “Swiftie,” “prompt” and “situationship.”
According to the OUP, language experts considered the corpus data, the vote counts and the public commentary around the words in the selection of a definitive word of the year for 2023.
“Our language experts chose ‘rizz’ as an interesting example of how language can be formed, shaped, and shared within communities, before being picked up more widely in society. It speaks to how younger generations now have spaces, online or otherwise, to own and define the language they use. From activism to dating and wider culture, as Gen Z comes to have more impact on society, differences in perspectives and lifestyle play out in language, too,” said the OUP.
Contrast from last year’s
Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages, said that the public’s participation in this year’s word of the year selection was incredible.
“Seeing thousands of people debate and discuss language like this really highlights the power it has in helping us to understand who we are, and process what’s happening to the world around us,” said Grathwohl.
Last year, the selected word of the year was “goblin mode” which Oxford defined as, “a type of behavior which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations.”
Grathwohl noted that it is “interesting” that a contrasting word won this year.
“Perhaps speaking to a prevailing mood of 2023 where more of us are opening ourselves up after a challenging few years and finding confidence in who we are,” said the Oxford Languages president.“Stories of linguistic evolution and expansion that used to take years can now take weeks or months. The spike in usage data for rizz goes to prove that words and phrases that evolve from internet culture are increasingly becoming part of day-to-day vernacular and will continue to shape language trends in the future,” he added. INQ
