Useful Action Verbs for Writing Essays

Mr. O'Brien (United States of America)
Resources:

Strong Verbs for Essay Writing

https://www.allendalek8.com/cms/lib/NJ01001462/Centricity/Domain/90/Essay%20verbs%202.pdf

Powerful Verbs for Weaving Ideas in Essays:

https://salt.arizona.edu/sites/salt.arizona.edu/files/tutoringfiles/handouts/Powerful%20Verbs%20for%20Essays.pdf

Synonyms for says:
https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/says
204 words 26 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. accomplish
    achieve with effort
    It still troubles me now — it will always be unresolved — and I hope that it troubles you, because the moral conscience at ease accomplishes nothing. Washington Post
  2. achieve
    gain with effort
    “The modernization of the trade agreement” among the three countries “concludes 13 months of negotiations and achieves what we proposed at the beginning: a win-win-win agreement,” Peña Nieto wrote on Twitter. Washington Post (Oct 1, 2018)
  3. advance
    move forward
    But “Private Life” advances to another level of empathy, enriching its emotions and deepening its family ties, when Rachel and Richard decide to ask a loved one for help. Los Angeles Times (Oct 4, 2018)
  4. affect
    have an influence upon
    Hepatitis B, which affects an estimated 257 million people, is a life-threatening viral infection that attacks the liver. Reuters (Oct 4, 2018)
  5. affirm
    declare solemnly and formally as true
    More than that, the alienation of American audiences from the riches of global cinema affirms some of this country’s worst and most dangerously parochial tendencies. New York Times (Sep 27, 2018)
  6. allege
    report or maintain
  7. alleviate
    provide physical relief, as from pain
  8. allow
    make it possible for something to happen
  9. ameliorate
    make better
  10. analyze
    break down into components or essential features
  11. announce
    make known
  12. answer
    a statement made to reply to a question or criticism
  13. assemble
    create by putting components or members together
  14. assert
    declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
  15. assist
    give help; be of service
  16. assume
    take to be the case or to be true
  17. attain
    gain with effort
  18. attempt
    make an effort
  19. attest
    provide evidence for
  20. augment
    enlarge or increase
  21. authorize
    grant permission or clearance for
  22. avert
    turn away or aside
  23. ban
    prohibit especially by law or social pressure
  24. bars
    gymnastic apparatus consisting of two parallel wooden rods supported on uprights
  25. be
    have a specified quality or characteristic
  26. build
    make by combining materials and parts
  27. cause
    events that provide the generative force of something
  28. claim
    assert or affirm strongly
  29. clarify
    make clear by removing impurities or solids, as by heating
  30. commence
    set in motion, cause to start
  31. commentary
    a written explanation or criticism or illustration
  32. communicate
    transfer to another
  33. compel
    force somebody to do something
  34. conclude
    bring to a close
  35. confirm
    strengthen
  36. conjecture
    believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds
  37. connote
    express or state indirectly
  38. consent
    give an affirmative reply to; respond favorably to
  39. consider
    think about carefully; weigh
  40. construct
    make by combining materials and parts
  41. construe
    make sense of; assign a meaning to
  42. convey
    transmit or serve as the medium for transmission
  43. create
    bring into existence
  44. declare
    state emphatically and authoritatively
  45. deduce
    reason from the general to the particular
  46. defend
    protect against a challenge or attack
  47. deliberate
    carefully thought out in advance
  48. deliver
    bring to a destination
  49. demonstrate
    give an exhibition of to an interested audience
  50. denote
    have as a meaning
  51. depict
    give a description of
  52. determine
    find out or learn with certainty, as by making an inquiry
  53. develop
    progress or evolve through a process of natural growth
  54. disallow
    command against
  55. disclose
    expose to view as by removing a cover
  56. discourage
    try to prevent; show opposition to
  57. discover
    determine the existence, presence, or fact of
  58. display
    something intended to communicate a particular impression
  59. divulge
    make known to the public information previously kept secret
  60. document
    a representation of a person's thinking with symbolic marks
  61. effects
    property of a personal character that is portable
  62. emit
    give off, send forth, or discharge
  63. emphasize
    stress or single out as important
  64. empower
    give or delegate authority to
  65. encourage
    inspire with confidence
  66. endorse
    approve of
  67. engender
    call forth
  68. enhance
    increase
  69. enrich
    make better or improve in quality
  70. entail
    have as a logical consequence
  71. establish
    set up or found
  72. estimate
    judge tentatively
  73. examine
    observe, check out, and look over carefully or inspect
  74. exemplify
    be characteristic of
  75. expand
    extend in one or more directions
  76. explain
    make plain and comprehensible
  77. explore
    travel to or penetrate into
  78. expose
    make visible or apparent
  79. expound
    add details to clarify an idea
  80. express
    communicate beliefs or opinions
  81. facilitate
    make easier
  82. forbid
    command against
  83. force
    influence that results in motion, stress, etc. when applied
  84. generate
    bring into existence
  85. give voice
    put into words or an expression
  86. guarantee
    an unconditional commitment that something will happen
  87. guard
    watch over or shield from danger or harm
  88. guess
    expect, believe, or suppose
  89. highlight
    an area of brightness in a picture
  90. hinder
    be an obstacle to
  91. hint
    an indirect suggestion
  92. identify
    recognize as being
  93. ignite
    cause to start burning
  94. illustrate
    depict with a visual representation
  95. imagine
    expect, believe, or suppose
  96. impact
    the striking of one body against another
  97. impart
    bestow a quality on
  98. imply
    express or state indirectly
  99. impose
    charge and collect payment
  100. improve
    to make better
  101. incite
    provoke or stir up
  102. include
    have as a part; be made up out of
  103. increase
    a process of becoming larger or longer or more numerous
  104. indicate
    designate a place, direction, person, or thing
  105. influence
    a power to affect persons or events
  106. inhibit
    limit the range or extent of
  107. initiate
    set in motion, start an event or prepare the way for
  108. instigate
    provoke or stir up
  109. introduce
    bring something new to an environment
  110. involve
    contain as a part
  111. judge
    an official who decides questions before a court
  112. juxtapose
    place side by side
  113. kindle
    catch fire
  114. launch
    propel with force
  115. license
    a legal document giving official permission to do something
  116. maintain
    keep in a certain state, position, or activity
  117. manifest
    clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
  118. manufacture
    put together out of artificial or natural components
  119. mention
    make reference to
  120. misconstrue
    interpret in the wrong way
  121. neglect
    leave undone or leave out
  122. observe
    watch attentively
  123. offer
    present for acceptance or rejection
  124. opine
    express one's view openly and without fear or hesitation
  125. orate
    make speeches
  126. outlaw
    a criminal, especially one on the run from police
  127. perceive
    become aware of through the senses
  128. perform
    get done
  129. permit
    allow the presence of or allow without opposing
  130. personify
    attribute human qualities to something
  131. persuasive
    intended or having the power to induce action or belief
  132. pinpoint
    the sharp point of a pin
  133. portray
    represent, as in a work of art
  134. pose
    assume a bearing as for artistic purposes
  135. preclude
    make impossible, especially beforehand
  136. present
    happening or existing now
  137. pressure
    the act of putting pressure on something
  138. presume
    take to be the case or to be true
  139. prevent
    keep from happening or arising; make impossible
  140. produce
    bring forth or yield
  141. progress
    the act of moving forward, as toward a goal
  142. prohibit
    command against
  143. promote
    assign to a higher position
  144. prompt
    according to schedule or without delay
  145. pronounce
    speak or utter in a certain way
  146. proposal
    the act of making a suggestion
  147. protect
    shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage
  148. prove
    establish the validity of something
  149. provide
    give something useful or necessary to
  150. provoke
    provide the needed stimulus for
  151. question
    a sentence of inquiry that asks for a reply
  152. rap
    strike sharply
  153. reach
    move forward or upward in order to touch
  154. reason
    a logical motive for a belief or action
  155. recite
    repeat aloud from memory
  156. refer
    make a remark that calls attention to
  157. rehearse
    engage in a rehearsal (of)
  158. relate
    give an account of
  159. remark
    make or write a comment on
  160. render
    give or supply
  161. repeat
    say or state again
  162. reply
    react verbally
  163. report
    to give an account or representation of in words
  164. represent
    be a delegate or spokesperson for
  165. respond
    show a reaction to something
  166. reveal
    make visible
  167. rumor
    gossip passed around by word of mouth
  168. safeguard
    a precautionary measure warding off impending danger
  169. sanction
    official permission or approval
  170. scrutinize
    examine carefully for accuracy
  171. secure
    free from danger or risk
  172. show
    make visible or noticeable
  173. signify
    denote or connote
  174. situation
    physical position in relation to the surroundings
  175. Spark
    Scottish writer of satirical novels (born in 1918)
  176. speculate
    reflect deeply on a subject
  177. spiel
    artful or slick talk used to persuade
  178. state
    the way something is with respect to its main attributes
  179. stimulate
    cause to act in a specified manner
  180. stress
    special emphasis attached to something
  181. substantiate
    establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts
  182. suggest
    make a proposal; declare a plan for something
  183. supply
    circulate or distribute or equip with
  184. support
    the act of bearing the weight of or strengthening
  185. suppose
    expect or believe
  186. theorize
    construct a hypothesis about
  187. thwart
    hinder or prevent, as an effort, plan, or desire
  188. transform
    change or alter in appearance or nature
  189. trigger
    lever that activates the firing mechanism of a gun
  190. typify
    embody the essential characteristics of
  191. underscore
    give extra weight to
  192. uphold
    stand up for; stick up for; of causes, principles, or ideals
  193. use
    put into service
  194. utter
    without qualification
  195. validate
    confirm the legal force of
  196. verb
    a word denoting an action, occurrence, or state of existence
  197. verbalize
    express in speech
  198. verify
    confirm the truth of
  199. voice
    the sound made when a person speaks
  200. yield
    give or supply
  201. acquiesce
    agree or express agreement
    How many wish she would just be quiet and acquiesce? Washington Post (Sep 27, 2018)
  202. receive
    get something; come into possession of
    She will also receive a Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex bag, a stuffed animal astronaut and a KidsPost T-shirt. Washington Post (Oct 5, 2018)
  203. continue
    keep or maintain in unaltered condition
    "Maybe she should actually learn about her record in Congress," he continued. Salon (Oct 8, 2018)
  204. parallel
    make or place alongside something
Created on Wed Oct 03 09:06:47 EDT 2018 (updated Mon Oct 15 11:34:18 EDT 2018)

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