How to Use Powerful and Creative Verbs

Verbs are action words, right? We all remember that from elementary school. Verbs describe the action that is taking place. But verbs dont have to surrender all the fun and emotional power to adjectives—the words that traditionally paint the pictures in our heads. As a matter of fact, the most powerful writers use verbs quite effectively to illustrate their writing. Review Your Verbs After you complete a draft of your paper, it might be a good idea to conduct a verb inventory. Just read over your draft and underline all your verbs. Do you see repetition? Are you bored? Verbs like said, walked, looked, and thought can be replaced with more descriptive words like mumbled, sauntered, eyeballed, and pondered. Here are a few more suggestions: Looked: gazedstaredsevered (with his eyes) Walked: strolledspideredsashayedskulked Said: suggestedutteredbellowedargued Get Creative With Verbs One way to make verbs more interesting is to invent them from other word forms. Sounds illegal, doesnt it? But its not like youre printing dollar bills in your basement. One type of noun that works well is animal types, since some animals have very strong characteristics. Skunks, for instance, have a reputation for being stinky or spoiling the air. Do the following statements evoke powerful images? He skunked the party up with his cologne...She snaked the hallways...She wormed her way out of the class... Jobs as Verbs Another noun type that works well is names of occupations. We often use doctor as a verb, as in the following sentence: She doctored the paper until it was perfect. Doesnt that evoke the image of a woman hovering over a piece of writing, tools in hand, crafting and nurturing the paper to perfection? What other occupations could paint such a clear scene? How about police? Mrs. Parsons policed her garden until it was completely pest free. You can get very creative with unusual verbs: bubble-wrapped the insult (to suggest that the insult was surrounded by softer words)tabled your idea But you do have to use colorful verbs tactfully. Use good judgment and dont overdo the creativity. Language is like clothing--too much color can be just plain odd. List of Power Verbs abscond accelerate adapt advocate afflict agonize analyze anticipate ascertain aspire assess assimilate barter better bypass calculate challenge champion clarify coordinate define delegate describe detail devalue dispense divert duplicate examine execute exhibit expedite facilitate forge formulate generalize generate halt halve hypothesize illustrate implement inquire labor launch lull manipulate model monitor observe observe orchestrate position procure qualify reconcile refrain regulate restructure revisit secure simplify solve surpass table tabulate taint thwart trigger undervalue undulate utilize value verify verify vex