pizzazz
noun

- the quality of noticeable and energetic excitement

- an attractive combination of vitality and glamour

- the quality of being exciting or attractive

Oxford Languages / Cambridge Dictionary / Merriam-Webster

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WORD ORIGIN

Pizzazz describes a combination of style, as in appearance or a way of acting, and a great deal of energy. It is frequently used in the context of “adding pizzazz” to something that is dull, boring or lacks style (particularly in advertising):

“Add some pizzazz to your presentations with dazzling graphics and sounds.”

“Put some pizzazz back in your life by attending one of our dance classes.”

“Add pizzazz to any meal with our selection of exotic spices and herbs.”

The origin of pizzazz is unclear. It is not related to “pizza” however, which is thought to come from the Greek pitta (cake, tart, pie).

Pizzazz is a word that developed in the U.S. during the 1930s. It is said to have been invented by Diana Vreeland, fashion editor of ‘Harper’s Bazaar’.

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TRUMP’S IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS LACK PIZZAZZ

At the end of the first day of House impeachment hearings against Donald Trump in November 2019, NBC tweeted that the testimony of two civil servants — professorial George Kent and Bill Taylor — lacked “pizzazz”.

The internet mockery machine kicked into high gear, followed by late-night TV and “Saturday Night Live”, where the hearings were presented as a soap opera, with Jon Hamm playing a hunky Taylor flirting with a mascara-drenched telenovela heroine Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

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SYNONYMS

- vitality or energy:

a little something, animation, bang, beans, bite, bounce, bounciness, bustle, chirpiness, colour, daring, dash, ebullience, edge, effervescence, elan, elan vital, emotion, esprit, excitement, exuberance, fervour, fire in the belly, fizz, flair, flamboyance, flourish, get-up-and-go, ginger, glamour, gusto, intensity, jazz, jazziness, joie de vivre, juice, life force, lustiness, lustre, moxie, oomph, panache, passion, pep, pepper, pip, PIZZAZZ, pluck, punch, punchiness, saltiness, scintillation, snap, snappiness, soul, spark, sparkle, spice, spiciness, spirit, spiritedness, splash, sprightliness, verve, vibrance, vibrancy, vigorousness, vigour, vim (and vigour), vital spark, vivaciousness, vivacity, welly, what it takes, zap, zeal, zest, zestfulness, zing, zip

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