The English language keeps changing. Did you know that there have been new words coming out since the language was born centuries ago? 

     And for the past 20 years, the Oxford English Dictionary has picked a commonly used word or a word that has gotten popular over the past year to crown it the ‘Word Of The Year’.

     The candidates to become the new Oxford Word of The Year are debated for some time. They are “chosen to reflect the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of that particular year and to have lasting potential as a word of cultural significance” (Languages.oup.com). 

     This year, the word of the year is RIZZ, which is short for charisma and has grown especially popular on social media platforms. 

     Many RIS students didn’t know that there has been a word of the year tradition, though most students are familiar with the word rizz and were glad that it was chosen. 

     Although some people were shocked by this year’s word of the year, others, like Oliver Manger in 6th grade, were not. 

     “The reason why I think it is not shocking is that there was an online sensation that got more popular over the year, so I don’t think it’s weird for rizz to be the word of the year,” he said.

      To be declared the word of the year, this had to beat out other highly used words.  This year, the following words were also candidates for the 2023 champion:  situationships, swiftie, prompt, de-influencing, beast mode (an aggressive mode you switch into while doing hardcore activities), cromulent (acceptable), jorts, rage quit, smash burger, smishing, grammable, jumpscare, and nerf.

     The Word of the Year in 2022 was goblin mode, meaning to behave in a way that goes against social standards. In 2021 it was vax or a vaccination. 

     The Oxford Word Of The Year used to be chosen based on word usage in the past year, but since 2022, it has been different. For the past two years, the Oxford Dictionary has let the public vote on which word they think should be dubbed the new Word Of The Year. 

     This year’s public choice was rizz. Rizz, according to 6th-grader Charlie Grauch, means “to pull someone.” Or according to 6th grader Natalie Isola, having rizz means “asking someone out and them saying yes.” 

     Most students in RIS agree that to have rizz means being attractive or to have a lot of people that enjoy being around you.

     Although some people were shocked by this year’s word of the year, others, like Oliver Manger, 6th grade, were not. “The reason why I think it is not shocking is that there was an online sensation that got more popular over the year, so I don’t think it’s weird for rizz to be the word of the year,” he said. 

     When 40 people were asked if they’d heard of the word rizz, they all said yes. Out of 35 students, 23 use the word rizz in their day-to-day life. While many people use the word rizz in their day-to-day lives, only 32% of students in RIS know that rizz is slang for charisma. It is also considered a compliment when you are told that you ‘have rizz’. 

     “I have a lot of rizz,” commented 7th-grader Chase Schmidt, “but I don’t think other people would agree.” 

      Now that you know everything, what would you pick as your Word of the Year?

Quiz about all the new words that have been added to the dictionary

Question: What does zhuzh mean?

1. Not a real word
2. To spice up
3. To tell someone to be quiet
4. French cuisine

Question: What does Rizz mean?

1. Not a real word
2. To be a rizzler
3. To pick up people
4. To pick up things

Question: What does NGL mean?

1. Not Gonna Lie
2. Nothing Going Goose
3. Never Gonna Laugh
4. Not Getting Life

Question: What does cromulent mean?

1. Croissant lover
2. Not a real word
3. Adequate
4. Critical condition

Question: What does situationship mean?

1. Not a real word
2. To be in an undefined relationship
3. To be in an unfortunate situation
4. A toxic relationship

Question: What does TTYL stand for?

1. To Tell You Lots
2. Too Tall You Loose
3. Tons Tea You Learn
4. Talk To You Later

Question: What does Swiftie mean?

1. Not a real word
2. A fan of Taylor Swift
3. Someone who likes to swiffer the floor
4. Someone who slides to the left

Question: What does TFW stand for?

1. To Forward Winnings
2. Tell Friends What
3. Time For Wiffleball
4. That Feeling When

Question: What does de-influencing mean?

1. Slowing down the use of a popular product 
2. Not a real word
3. Telling people why not to buy a product
4. Influencing a product

Question: What does prompt mean?

1. To help or assist
2. A sentence starter
3. To step on a pom-pom
4. To go to prom

Question: What does Chef’s Kiss mean?

1. Not a real word
2. A gesture of angry
3. A gesture of satisfaction/perfection
4. A gesture of a slur

Question: What does jorts mean?

1. Short jeans
2. Sammy-jojo
3. Jean shorts
4. shortjs