Rizz, An Internet Slang that Has Become a Global Cultural Touchstone of Romantic Appeal

28 December 2025

Kai Cenat at The 2023 Streamy Awards on August 27, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Gilbert Flores/Penske Media via Getty

The word rizz has emerged as a defining piece of internet slang in recent years, a term that encapsulates the kind of magnetic charm and confident social presence that makes someone stand out in social situations, particularly in romantic contexts, and its rise from niche online use to mainstream lexicon reflects how digital culture continuously reshapes language and human interaction. Rizz is most commonly understood to mean romantic appeal or charm and is used to describe someone’s ability to attract or seduce another person not through physical looks alone, but through their personality, confidence, humor and overall social ease, a definition that has been embraced widely by younger generations across TikTok, Twitch, Twitter and Instagram.

The roots of the word rizz can be traced back to internet culture and the influence of content creators in the early 2020s, with American YouTuber and Twitch streamer Kai Cenat often credited with popularizing the term around 2021 through his streams and social media presence. Cenat and his circle used rizz casually to describe someone’s “game,” a phrase historically used to measure someone’s flirtation skills, but as the term spread from Twitch to TikTok and other platforms, it gained broader traction and became an emblematic piece of language within Generation Z and increasingly among Generation Alpha as well.

Slang terms like rizz often take on lives of their own in digital communities before they are formally acknowledged in linguistic circles, and rizz is no exception. Its widespread popularity culminated in recognition by authoritative linguistic sources; for example, Oxford University Press named rizz as its Word of the Year in 2023, highlighting how a piece of youth slang rooted in online spaces had infiltrated mainstream discourse. Merriam-Webster also includes rizz in its dictionary, defining it succinctly as “romantic appeal or charm” when used as a noun and explaining that it can also function as a verb meaning “to charm or seduce.”

The dictionary definition provides a clear sense of rizz’s usage in everyday speech today. As a noun, one might say “They’ve got great rizz,” indicating that the person in question has a compelling charm that makes them socially or romantically appealing. As a verb, to rizz up someone means to use that charm to influence or attract, for example, “He rizzed her up at the party,” suggesting that his personal magnetism helped him make an impression. This verbal flexibility reflects the way rizz functions not just as a static descriptor but as a dynamic part of conversational slang that can convey subtle differences in social nuance.

The concept behind rizz goes beyond mere flirtation technique; it speaks to a broader cultural valuation of charisma, confidence and interpersonal finesse. The term often overlaps with ideas like social intelligence and expressive presence, qualities that can elevate social interactions whether in casual conversations, night-out scenarios or even professional networking contexts. Though it is rooted in youth culture, the language of rizz has penetrated wider popular culture and even influenced celebrity conversations about social style, as seen when entertainers and public figures reference the idea of someone having “rizz” or being a “rizz god,” a playful extension of the basic term that signals an especially high level of charm or social success.

The evolution of rizz showcases how digital communities invent and popularize terms that resonate because they capture something essential about human interaction. In many ways, rizz fills a linguistic gap for describing that je ne sais quoi, the intangible blend of personality, confidence and social ease that makes someone attractive or intriguing in social settings. Its emergence from the vibrant and fast-paced world of internet culture to formal recognition in dictionaries reflects a larger trend in which grassroots slang influences mainstream language, shaping how people describe personal qualities in real time.

For those unfamiliar with the term, considering rizz as shorthand for modern charisma offers a straightforward entry point. It is similar to older expressions like having “game,” being “smooth” or possessing a magnetic persona, but rizz carries its own distinct digital flair, born of the participatory and meme-driven environment of social media. The term’s flexibility also allows for playful variations and uses in conversation, including qualifiers like “W rizz” for successful charm or “unspoken rizz” to describe a kind of effortless, wordless allure.

As everyday language continues to evolve under the influence of online platforms, rizz stands out as a prime example of how youth culture can transform niche slang into a word with broad social relevance. Whether adopted by adults trying to understand modern social dynamics or embraced by younger generations as part of their regular speech, rizz illustrates the power of digital communities to shape the very words we use to describe the nuances of human connection and attraction.