Commiserations to words like ‘peace’, ‘equality’, ‘love’ and ‘understanding’, you just didn’t have what it takes this year. According to Oxford University Press, this year was all about the word ‘Rizz’, which I think is a word Gen Z has already got sick of and older folk like us completely loathe, so at least we can all cringe at this news together.

What does ‘rizz’ even mean, anyway? Well…

Have to admit, I had no idea the word came from ‘charisma’, and that’s pretty cool to know. According to the people at Oxford, rizz essentially “refers to a person’s ability to attract a romantic partner through style, charm or attractiveness.”

‘Rizz’ beat out the word “prompt” (an instruction given to AI), “situationship” (f*** buddies), and “Swiftie” (the name given to an harcore fan of singer Taylor Swift). So clearly, Oxford is doing its best to appeal to the chronically online/TikTok generation where these sort of words are popular.

Still, last year’s Oxford word of the year was ‘goblin mode’, so at least they settled on a singular word this time. Other previous words of the year include ‘vax’ (2021), ‘climate emergency’ (2019) and ‘selfie’ (2018). At this point, it’s anyone’s guess whether 2024’s word of the year has even been uttered yet.

As for 2020’s ‘Word of the Decade’… that might p1ss you off even more.