Power Verbs

If you’re rereading one of your sentences and feeling the need for a
more powerful verb — one that grabs the reader’s attention and leaves
them in no doubt as to your meaning — see if one of the following verbs
are a better fit.
Maybe they’ll at least get your mind so in tune with powerful verbs that
you have an easier time thinking of just the right one.

 Advance
 Amplify
 Attack
 Blast
 Bolt
 Broadcast
 Bust
 Charge
 Clutch
 Command
 Devour
 Drag
 Engulf
 Explode
 Fight
 Fling
 Fly
 Glare
 Grasp
 Growl
 Hack
 Ignite
 Leap
 Plunge
 Rip
 Rise
 Scorch
 Seize
 Shatter
 Slash
 Smash
 Soar
 Storm
 Supercharge
 Swipe
 Wrestle
 Yank

Vivid Verbs
Some verbs just don’t create a vivid enough picture for your reader. You
want a verb with visuals that pop in your reader’s mind. The following
should give you some ideas.

 Batter
 Beam
 Blab
 Burst
 Catapult
 Clasp
 Climb
 Collide
 Crash
 Dash
 Dismantle
 Drain
 Expose
 Gleam
 Glitter
 Grope
 Gush
 Hobble
 Intertwine
 Jostle
 Launch
 Lurk
 Peek
 Paint
 Pinpoint
 Plant
 Poison
 Retreat
 Scratch
 Scrawl
 Sizzle
 Slide
 Skip
 Slump
 Snag
 Starve
 Struggle
 Surge

Forceful Verbs
If you’re looking for a verb with a strong and undeniable presence — one
that gets the message across with a one-two punch and without
apologies — consider the verbs in this list.

 Capture
 Crush
 Decimate
 Deviate
 Demolish
 Devastate
 Dominate
 Extract
 Expel
 Oppress
 Revitalize
 Rip
 Ruin
 Stare
 Smash
 Smite
 Strip
 Terrorize
 Wreck
 Wrench
 Wrest
 Wring

Interesting Verbs
Maybe you just want a verb that sounds more interesting than your
original choice — but without sounding forced or flowery.

You don’t want purple prose, but you do want to keep your reader
interested. So, mix it up with one of the dazzling verbs below.

 Brood
 Discover
 Ensnare
 Envelop
 Fuse
 Gaze
 Glisten
 Illuminate
 Intuit
 Journey
 Mystify
 Perceive
 Position
 Realize
 Refashion
 Reveal
 Reverberate
 Transfigure
 Transform
 Travel
 Uncover
 Unearth
 Withdraw

Fun Verbs
Some verbs are just more fun than others. It’s not a competition; it’s just
how it is.

Some verbs get all the oohs and ahhs but none of the laughs. They’re
cool with it. They know their place.

If you’re looking for verbs with more of the fun factor, here are a few to
consider:

 Eyeball
 Fizz
 Garble
 Gobble
 Plop
 Pop
 Prickle
 Prune
 Splat
 Swoon
 Tattle
 Tussle
 Trudge
 Whiz
 Wrangle
 Zap
 Zing

Descriptive Verbs
Some verbs just do a better job of describing how a character is doing
something.

It paints a clearer picture, so the reader is better able to visualize what’s

going on.

These might not be the most vivid verbs, but they do show you more
detail than your average “basic” verb.

 Balloon
 Bash
 Clutch
 Download
 Eavesdrop
 Escort
 Expand
 Explore
 Extract
 Frown
 Hack
 Hobble
 Lead
 Lurch
 Peer
 Probe
 Pluck
 Recite
 Rush
 Saunter
 Scamper
 Scrape
 Shepherd
 Skulk
 Slink
 Snarl
 Sneak
 Snowball
 Spray
 Sparkle
 Sprinkle
 Stroll
 Strut
 Stumble
 Survey
 Toddle
 Untangle
 Unveil
 Usher

Cooler Ways to Say “Said”

You’ll find some of these in the other lists, but it makes sense to gather
up other ways to say “said” into a list of their own.
 Sometimes, “said” is just fine. But if you’re using a lot of dialogue tags,
and you’d like to show a little more of how your character is saying
something (with making things awkward), a list of strong “said” verbs will
come in mighty handy.
Related: Grammarly Review: Is This the Best Grammar Checker?
Don’t overdo them, though. And if you can indicate who’s speaking
without using a dialogue tag at all, so much the better.

The following verbs are also helpful in other contexts where you might
use the word “said.”

Side Note: I’m omitting the word “exclaimed” on purpose; the word is

overused and pure torture to read.
 Advertised
 Affirmed
 Alleged
 Announced
 Articulated
 Asserted
 Avowed
 Bellowed
 Blabbered
 Blurted (out)
 Broadcasted
 Breathed
 Chanted
 Chirped
 Commented
 Crooned
 Declared
 Drawled
 Enunciated
 Gasped
 Growled
 Gushed
 Hinted
 Imparted
 Implied
 Instructed
 Lisped
 Mumbled
 Murmured
 Paraphrased
 Piped up (with)
 Pontificated
 Postulated
 Proclaimed
 Purred
 Put into words
 Rattled off
 Recited
 Reeled off
 Remarked
 Repeated
 Rephrased
 Reported
 Restated
 Roared
 Shared
 Shouted
 Snarled
 Spluttered
 Spouted
 Stated
 Stuttered
 Suggested
 Summarized
 Vented
 Voiced
 Wailed
 Whimpered
 Whined
 Whispered

Was this list of strong verbs helpful?

Now that you have a fair sampling of strong verbs to choose from, we
hope you keep this post handy, and that it serves you well.

Remember that it’s not so much a question of good verbs vs. bad verbs.