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Oxford University Press, one of the world’s oldest publishers and the printer of the Oxford English Dictionary, is making waves with its choice for 2023’s word of the year: “Rizz.”
Short for “charisma,” the word—favored by Gen Z and its younger counterpart, Gen Alpha—beat out other viral slang favorites, including “Swiftie” (a fan of Taylor Swift), situationship (“a romantic or sexual relationship that is not considered to be formal or established”), and prompt, defined as an instruction given to an artificial intelligence program, algorithm, etc.
“2023 marked the era of personal–and professional–PR. And what does it take to command attention? A whole lot of charisma, or the shortened form, ‘rizz’,” OUP wrote in a release announcing their decision.