rizz
{{Short description|Internet slang word for charm}}
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{{Italic title}}
{{confuse|Rizla}}
{{About|the Internet slang term}}
{{wiktionary|rizz}}
{{use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
Rizz ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɹ|ɪ|z|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-rizz.wav}}) is an internet slang word defined as style, charm, or attractiveness. It is likely short for charisma, and is often associated with brain rot.
Background
The phrase was popularized by American YouTuber and Twitch streamer Kai Cenat in mid-2021, with it being used among his friend group long before.{{Cite web |date=17 Jul 2023 |title=Kai Cenat Explains Making Money on Twitch, Lil Uzi Video & iShowSpeed Friendship |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_2gdNW5_Rs&t=2133s |url-status=live |website=Youtube}} It subsequently garnered virality on the social media application TikTok.{{Cite web |title=Rizz – What does rizz mean? |url=https://slang.net/meaning/rizz |access-date=2023-12-04 |website=slang.net |archive-date=2023-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702175909/https://slang.net/meaning/rizz |url-status=live }} Oxford University Press named rizz its word of the year for 2023.{{Cite news |date=2023-12-04 |title=Rizz named word of the year 2023 by Oxford University Press |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67602699 |access-date=2023-12-04 |archive-date=2023-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204001220/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67602699 |url-status=live }}
File:Kai Cenat.png, who greatly popularized the word rizz|200px]]
The popularity of the word in mid-2021 is attributed to Kai Cenat. Streaming on Twitch, Cenat would share to people how to have "rizz" and developed other phrases, such as "W rizz" and "L rizz". It describes a person's "level of rizz"; to have "W rizz" is to have excellent charisma, whereas to have "L rizz" means the opposite, possessing bad charisma.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-04 |title=What does rizz mean, and do you have it? The Gen Z term storming TikTok |url=https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/does-rizz-mean-gen-z-103149170.html |access-date=2023-12-04 |website=Yahoo Sports |language=en-CA |archive-date=2023-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204152952/https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/does-rizz-mean-gen-z-103149170.html |url-status=live }}
Rizz is a colloquial noun, used when describing possession of charisma. As a verb, rizz can be used to describe using charisma to attract someone, as to "rizz up" a person.{{Cite web |last=Heaton |first=Benedict |date=2023-12-04 |title=Rizz crowned Oxford Word of the Year 2023 |url=https://corp.oup.com/news/rizz-crowned-oxford-word-of-the-year-2023/ |access-date=2023-12-04 |website=Oxford University Press |archive-date=2023-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204130913/https://corp.oup.com/news/rizz-crowned-oxford-word-of-the-year-2023/ |url-status=live }} It is believed that the middle syllable of the word charisma was shortened to create the word rizz, though this belief is not universal.https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/brad-callas/kai-cenat-whether-he-invented-term-rizz Oxford University Press described this formation pattern for a word as "unusual". However, this formation pattern can be seen in the shortening of words such as refrigerator (fridge), and influenza (flu).
Popularity
The word is mainly used by Generation Z,{{Cite web |title=Word of the year 2023 is 'rizz' after Tom Holland interview fuelled rise in use – but what does the Oxford pick mean? |url=https://news.sky.com/story/oxford-names-rizz-as-word-of-the-year-after-tom-holland-interview-fuelled-rise-in-use-but-what-does-it-mean-13022485 |access-date=2023-12-04 |website=Sky News |language=en |archive-date=2023-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204083556/https://news.sky.com/story/oxford-names-rizz-as-word-of-the-year-after-tom-holland-interview-fuelled-rise-in-use-but-what-does-it-mean-13022485 |url-status=live }} though it has attracted significant use from Generation Alpha as well.{{Cite web |last=Kircher |first=Madison Malone |date=2023-11-08 |title=Gen Alpha Is Here. Can You Understand Their Slang? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/08/style/gen-alpha-slang.html |access-date=2024-01-01 |website=The New York Times |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-12-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231221112338/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/08/style/gen-alpha-slang.html |url-status=live }} Further development of the word "rizz" includes "Rizzler" or "Rizz God",{{cite web |last1=Press-Reynolds |first1=Kieran |title=How the slang term 'rizz' became an internet obsession that stumped boomers (and even zoomers) |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/internet-slang-tiktok-word-rizz-rizzler-rizzgod-zoomers-rizzardofoz-twitter-2023-1 |website=Business Insider |access-date=27 January 2023 |archive-date=27 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127231822/https://www.businessinsider.com/internet-slang-tiktok-word-rizz-rizzler-rizzgod-zoomers-rizzardofoz-twitter-2023-1 |url-status=live }} meaning highly charismatic, and "Unspoken Rizz", meaning a person's ability to attract a person without speaking.{{Cite web |last=Hall |first=Vanessa |date=2023-04-04 |title=All About 'Rizz' and What It Actually Means |url=https://parade.com/living/rizz-meaning |access-date=2023-12-04 |website=Parade |language=en |archive-date=2023-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204152953/https://parade.com/living/rizz-meaning |url-status=live }}
Cenat stated in an interview on the No Jumper podcast that after the word went viral on TikTok he stopped using it himself, stating that the viral use on TikTok "butchered" the word. The term went further viral in June 2023, after actor Tom Holland explained in an interview with BuzzFeed that he possessed "limited rizz" and it was by playing the "long game" that helped to win over his girlfriend, actress Zendaya. From this, a number of memes were created.{{Cite news |last1=Khomami |first1=Nadia |date=2023-12-04 |title=Got rizz? Tom Holland memes propel popularity of 2023 word of the year |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/dec/04/got-rizz-tom-holland-memes-propel-popularity-of-2023-word-of-the-year |access-date=2023-12-04 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=2023-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204143329/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/dec/04/got-rizz-tom-holland-memes-propel-popularity-of-2023-word-of-the-year |url-status=live}} Rizz was named the Oxford English Dictionary Word of the Year for 2023.{{Cite web |last=Heaton |first=Benedict |date=2023-12-04 |title=Rizz crowned Oxford Word of the Year 2023 |url=https://corp.oup.com/news/rizz-crowned-oxford-word-of-the-year-2023/ |access-date=2024-07-03 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}{{Cite news |date=2023-12-04 |title=Rizz named word of the year 2023 by Oxford University Press |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67602699 |access-date=2024-07-03 |language=en-GB}}
See also
- Glossary of Generation Z slang
- Gyatt – another slang term popularized by Cenat
- The Rizzler – a social media personality known for his "rizz face"
- Skibidi Toilet
- Big dick energy
References
{{reflist}}{{Generation Z slang}}