Standard Lemma guide

pizzazz

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /pɪˈzæz/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -æz
  • CMU ARPABET: P IH2 Z AE1 Z Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Flair, vitality, or zest; energy; vigor.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • The show had a lot of pizzazz, with glittering costumes and upbeat music.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the activeness of an energetic personality

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dynamism, pizzaz, oomph, zing

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: activeness, activity

History

Etymology

Probably originally college or showbusiness slang in the United States, then popularized in the American fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar in the 1930s: see the quotation.

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: жизненост (žiznenost) — flair, vitality, or zest
  • Bulgarian: енергия (energija) — flair, vitality, or zest
  • Finnish: säpinä — flair, vitality, or zest
  • French: peps — flair, vitality, or zest
  • Māori: wana — flair, vitality, or zest
  • Polish: energia — flair, vitality, or zest
  • Polish: witalność — flair, vitality, or zest
  • Polish: żywotność — flair, vitality, or zest
  • Serbo-Croatian: vrckavost — flair, vitality, or zest
  • Spanish: dinamismo — flair, vitality, or zest
  • Spanish: chispa — flair, vitality, or zest
  • Swedish: fräs — flair, vitality, or zest
  • Swedish: schvung — flair, vitality, or zest