Rizz means charm, especially the knack for attracting someone you are romantically interested in. A person with rizz knows what to say and how to say it. The word works as a noun (“he has rizz”) and as a verb, mostly in the phrase “rizz up,” which means to flirt with someone and win them over. Oxford University Press named it Word of the Year for 2023.
What does rizz mean in a text?
Dictionary.com defines rizz as “attractiveness, charm, or skill in flirtation that allows one to easily attract romantic or sexual partners.” Oxford’s definition is close: style, charm or attractiveness, and the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner. In a text, rizz usually shows up as praise, as teasing, or as a bit of both. The words around it tell you which.
| How rizz is used | Example | What the sender means |
|---|---|---|
| Praising someone’s charm | “you have so much rizz it’s unfair” | You are smooth and easy to like |
| As a verb | “he rizzed her up at the party” | He flirted with her, and it worked |
| Teasing a friend | “bro has zero rizz” | He is awkward when he flirts |
| Rating a move | “asking her to help pick a song was W rizz” | That was a smooth move (W means win) |
| Mocking a failed move | “L rizz, she left you on read” | That attempt flopped (L means loss) |
Rizz is not only about dating. People also use it for anyone or anything with easy charm, like a teacher every class loves or a dog that wins over every visitor. Dictionary.com quotes a BBC piece from September 2024 that describes a medieval dining room as having “so much rizz.” In that sense the word simply means style.
Where does rizz come from?
Most dictionaries trace rizz to the word charisma. Oxford says it is taken from the middle of that word, which it calls an unusual way to form a new word. English has a few others built the same way, such as flu from influenza. Dictionary.com also calls it a shortening of charisma.
The person most linked to the word is Kai Cenat, a US YouTuber and Twitch streamer. Dictionary.com says he popularized rizz in 2021, partly through his “Rizz Academy” web series. Cenat himself has pushed back on the charisma story. In a December 2023 NPR report he said, “People say it’s short for charisma. But like, not to me.” He told NPR the word started with him and a few friends from back home.
From Twitch the word moved to TikTok and then into everyday speech. Within two years it went from a streamer’s in-joke to dictionary pages, which is fast even by slang standards.
Why was rizz the Oxford Word of the Year?
Oxford University Press announced rizz as its Word of the Year 2023 on 4 December 2023. It beat three other finalists: Swiftie, situationship and prompt. More than 30,000 people voted to cut a shortlist of eight words down to four. Oxford’s language experts then picked the winner, looking at its corpus data, the votes and public comment.
Coverage of the announcement pointed to one moment that pushed the word wider. In a 2023 interview, the actor Tom Holland was asked about the secret to his rizz and answered, “I have no rizz whatsoever.” The clip spread widely and set off a debate online about who has rizz and who does not.
Other dictionaries had already moved. Merriam-Webster added rizz to its online dictionary in September 2023 as one of 690 new words. NBC News reported in September 2025 that rizz is also among the new words in the 12th edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, its print desk dictionary.
Is rizz a compliment or an insult?
Most of the time it is a compliment. Telling someone they have rizz says they are charming and confident. The insult comes from the words around it. “No rizz,” “zero rizz” or “negative rizz” all mean someone is clumsy at flirting, and friends throw these around as light teasing.
The tone depends on who is talking. Between close friends, “you have no rizz” is a joke. From a stranger in the comments, it can be a real put-down. If the line is about someone’s looks rather than their charm, it tends to land harder than the sender meant.
For parents, the word itself is harmless. Teens use it about crushes, but also about friends, celebrities, characters in shows and even pets. The phrase “rizz up” is the one that points to real flirting. If an adult or a stranger online is trying to “rizz up” a young teen, that is a situation worth a calm conversation, and the slang is just the clue.
How is rizz different from game, charm and swag?
Rizz did not invent the idea. Older slang had words for the same skill, and they still get used. The table shows how they compare.
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| rizz | Charm that draws people in, mostly romantic | “his rizz is unmatched” |
| game | Older slang for skill at flirting | “he’s got no game” |
| charm | The standard word, broad and polite | “she charmed the whole room” |
| swag | Confident style, how someone carries themselves | “he walked in with so much swag” |
| smooth | Good with words, often in flirting | “that was a smooth line” |
Game is the closest older match. Rizz is the newer, more playful version, and it is easier to turn into jokes like “W rizz” and “L rizz.” Charm is still the word to use in an email, a speech or anywhere formal.
How do you reply when someone says you have rizz?
Treat it like any compliment or tease, and match the tone. The lines below cover the cases you will meet most.
- A compliment: “you have crazy rizz” gets “haha thank you, I try”
- A tease: “you have zero rizz” gets “my rizz is just very quiet”
- A friend asking for help: “how do I rizz her up?” gets “just be yourself and ask what she’s into”
- Someone flirting with you who you are not into: “trying to rizz me up?” gets “nice try, but no”
- Praise for a pet: “your cat has more rizz than me” gets “she really does”
If a message mixes rizz with other short forms, paste it into our text slang translator to read it in plain English. You will also find rizz in our Gen Z slang list, next to words like slay and no cap.
Last checked: October 30, 2026.
