Oxford’s word of the year 2023 is ‘rizz’

Oxford University Press (OUP), which publishes the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), has named “rizz” as its word of the year for 2023.

Rizz, which is internet slang for romantic appeal or charm, was chosen from a shortlist of a group of eight finalist words that had been chosen via public vote.

Other contenders were:

• Swiftie –  a fan of Taylor Swift.

• Situationship – a romantic or sexual relationship that is not considered to be formal or established.

• Prompt – an instruction given to an artificial intelligence program, algorithm, etc.

• Beige flag – a sign that someone may not be a good match for you, even though there are no red flags.

• De-influencing – the act of discouraging people from buying products or following trends that are promoted by influencers.

• Heat dome – a large area of high pressure that traps hot air over a region for an extended period.

• Parasocial relationship – a one-sided relationship that someone feels they have with a celebrity or public figure.

OUP said it chose a word best judged to reflect the ethos, mood of preoccupation of 2023.

“Rizz was chosen by the language experts at OUP as an interesting example of how language can be formed, shaped and shared within communities, before being picked up more widely,” OUP said in a statement.

“It speaks to how younger generations create spaces — online or in person — where they own and define the language they use.”

OUP said rizz, which can also be used as a verb, saw its use skyrocket in 2023 compared to the previous year — with its usage peaking in June following Tom Holland, the US actor, telling BuzzFeed, a media company, in an interview that he has “no rizz whatsoever.”

“I have limited rizz,” he said, before adding that he has no need for rizz, as he is “happy and in love” with Zendaya, his girlfriend.

Casper Grathwohl, Oxford languages president, said the increased use of rizz demonstrates the influence of internet culture on everyday language, shaping future language trends.

“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 said.

In 2022, the Oxford word of the year was “goblin mode”, which was also a slang term describing unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy behaviour.