pizzazz
Britishnoun
Etymology
Origin of pizzazz
C20: origin obscure
Explanation
People with pizzazz are glamorous and fun to be with; they have that certain something that attracts others to them. Inanimate objects can also have pizzazz, like a school gymnasium that's been decorated for a dance or a website that's redesigned to be more flashy and exciting. Pizzazz began in the 1930s as a slang term, and it's still considered an informal way of describing excitement or zest.
Vocabulary lists containing pizzazz
Leeva at Last
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Keep Dancing, Lizzie Chu
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Those Kids from Fawn Creek
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Pizzazz, too, even though the word has always sounded to me like the perfect name for a Chevy sedan.
From New York Times • Jun. 1, 2024
The product, which was first introduced as the "Pizzazz Pizza" back in 1985, was previously removed from Taco Bell's menu in 2020.
From Salon • Aug. 2, 2022
Jason Schwartzman does a memorably Eeyore act as a polka clarinetist named "Mickey Pizzazz," as he rechristens himself when Jan starts making it big.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2018
Or she could have added a word or phrase to her salon’s name, maybe calling it Chanel’s Pizzazz Salon — anything to make it more eclectic.
From New York Times • Oct. 8, 2014
This is not so much the Jazz Age, or even the Pizzazz Age, as the Razzle-Dazzle Baz Age.
From Time • May 9, 2013
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
