verb

zhoosh

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Zhoosh (verb) means (informal) To improve or smarten something up, making it more exciting.

verb

(informal) To improve or smarten something up, making it more exciting.

"Mr. Warburton, a volunteer, swept into the group’s headquarters in the Hotel Pennsylvania, a team of hair stylists in tow, his objective to “zhoosh up” the women’s looks, he said." — Ruth La Ferla, To Dress for Success, You Must Trust His Eye (2009)

"Christmas dinner is stressful enough without busting out recipes you’ve never made before. That said, if Sue is after a little zhoosh, she might want to consider how she dresses her veg." — Anna Berrill, Final magic touches to zhoosh your Christmas lunch (2021)

"Mostly the words are dusted off and brought out when we wish to zhoosh up the conversation, to announce a particular delight in our queenly style." — Neil Bartlett, Who Was That Man? (1988)

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C2 · Advanced serendipity Fortunate discoveries made entirely by accident.

Gen Z slang rizz Charm — the ability to attract a romantic interest.

B2 · Intermediate empathy The capacity to share another person’s feelings.

C1 · Advanced nonchalant Casually calm and relaxed; unconcerned.

Internet slang delulu Delusional — believing something against the odds.

Etymology nostalgia Greek nostos “return home” + algos “pain”.

C2 · Advanced serendipity Fortunate discoveries made entirely by accident.

Gen Z slang rizz Charm — the ability to attract a romantic interest.

B2 · Intermediate empathy The capacity to share another person’s feelings.

C1 · Advanced nonchalant Casually calm and relaxed; unconcerned.

Internet slang delulu Delusional — believing something against the odds.

Etymology nostalgia Greek nostos “return home” + algos “pain”.

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Etymology

UK 1960s. Unclear origin; one explanation is that it was borrowed from Angloromani yuser (“clean”, verb) and yusher (“clear”, verb), from Angloromani yus-, yuz-, yuzh- (“clean”) and yush- (“clear”), from Romani žuž-, už- (“clean”, adjective) (also compare Hindi उज्ज्वल (ujjval, “bright”)), but this has been seen as problematic. Another theory is that the term is instead an "expressive formation" similar to whoosh and swish. The South African sense reportedly comes from a regional pronunciation of "Jewish", alluding to the high reputation of Jewish tailors at the time, but this has also been considered unlikely. All senses originated around the same time, with the first attributed use of the noun in 1968 and the verb in 1970.

Synonyms

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spice spruce

Related words

neat spice spruce dashing slovenly raffish jaunty zest

Rhymes for zhoosh

whoosh swoosh

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Frequently asked questions

What is the meaning of zhoosh?

"zhoosh" (verb) means (informal) To improve or smarten something up, making it more exciting.

What is another word for zhoosh?

Other words for "zhoosh" include spice, spruce.

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neat spice spruce dashing slovenly raffish jaunty zest