Oxford Dictionary Word of the Year 2023 (from website)
The Oxford Word of the Year for 2023 is “Rizz.” Oxford said the word was chosen based on 32,000 votes and the work carried out by a team of language experts.
If you never heard this word before then you are in good company. Spell checks in various software do not even recognize it yet. This is because the word was only recently coined by the people of Generation Z.
Here is Oxford’s definition of “rizz:” Pertaining to someone’s ability to attract another person through style, charm, or attractiveness, this term is from the middle part of the word ‘charisma’, which is an unusual word formation pattern. Other examples include ‘fridge’ (refrigerator) and ‘flu’ (influenza).
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The word “rizz,” explained Oxford, can also be used as a verb, often in the phrase “rizz up,” which means to attract, seduce, or chat up (a person).
“2023 marked the era of personal – and professional – PR,” explained Oxford. “And what does it take to command attention? A whole lot of charisma, or the shortened form, ‘rizz’.”
A number of other newly created words also made the list of finalists for the Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year.
These include “situationship,” another word you probably have never heard of before.
Etymologically, “situationship” is a blend of “situation” and “relationship.” Blending is a notable source of new words in English, particularly when words are coined self-consciously to describe a new phenomenon.
Oxford explains that this term was popularized by social media and modern dating shows, the term seems to have been coined in the late noughties or early 2010s and refers to a romantic or sexual relationship that is not considered to be formal or established, sometimes one that’s outside society’s conventions.
The Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Year reveal came a week after the Merriam-Webster dictionary picked just about the most perfect word imaginable for its Word of the Year 2023: And that word is “authentic.”
Generation Z, also known as Zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as the starting birth years and the early 2010s as the ending birth years.
Generation Z is the first generation to have been born and raised with technology, and they are highly proficient in using digital devices and the internet. It is the most racially and ethnically diverse generation in history and is said to be more pragmatic than previous generations, and they are more likely to prioritize financial security and stability over other factors such as career satisfaction or personal fulfillment.
