‘Don’t be such a fool, Jekyll,’ Utterson said contemptuously. ‘Give it back,’ he pleaded abjectly, ‘it’s mine.’ In these sentences, shouted, pleaded, and said are verbs of dialogue attribution. ‘Don’t be such a fool, Jekyll,’ Utterson said.

Just to make sure we all know what we’re talking about, examine these three sentences: I insist that you use the adverb in dialogue attribution only in the rarest and most special of occasions. With one exception: dialogue attribution. I can be a good sport about adverbs, though. By then you see them for the weeds they really are, but by then it’s - GASP!! - too late. and then, my brothers and sisters, your lawn is totally, completely, and profligately covered with dandelions. If you fail to root it out, however, you find five the next day. If you have one on your lawn, it looks pretty and unique. To put it another way, they’re like dandelions. 'I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops.

Tartly, Tautly, Teasingly, Tightly, Truthfully, Thoughtfully.

Sadly, Sympathetically, Sarcastically, Sincerely, Smugly, Soberly, Softly, Sparingly, Sternly.

Rakishly, Reflectively, Roughly, Rudely.

Quaintly, Quietly, Quickly, Queasily, Queerly.

Pleasantly, Politely, Playfully, Perceptively, Pleadingly.

Obnoxiously, Offhandedly, Optimistically.

Naively, Naturally, Negatively, Noncommittally.

Mildly, Maliciously, Masterfully, Merrily, Mindlessly.Impatiently, Indulgently, Innocently, Irritably.Earnestly, Ebulliently, Egotistically, Enthusiastically.Daintily, Daringly, Depressingly, Dryly.Calmly, Caustically, Cheerfully, Complacently, Crossly.Bemusedly, Begrudgingly, Badly, Beautifully, Believably.Abruptly, Absently, Acidly, Angrily, Apologetically, Approvingly, Artfully.” Using specific and interesting diction where appropriate can help readers better understand enjoy the piece they’re reading. Consider how “queried,” “interrogated,” “wondered,” or “inquired” each mean something slightly different and more specific than the more general “ask ed. F or this reason, many writers will use more specific dialogue tags (words used to “tag” or introduce a quote) that explain the type of speaking-for example, instead of “said,” writers can use “asked,” “replied, ” “yelled,” “cried,” “whispered,” and so on.Īnd within these categories, there are further and even more specific synonyms. If every dialogue scene sounded like, “He said, she said, they said,” the reader would get bored fairly quickly, and they would miss important detail s about how the character is speaking and what they’re feeling. Oftentimes, this search for the “perfect word” is a matter of understanding how small distinctions in meaning and connotation can contribute to a larger mood or tone, or give the audience more specific details.įor example, dialogue is a common feature in narrative writing, so many creative writers will try to find synonyms for the word “said” to avoid monotony and repetition. In general, reading broadly is a strong strategy for developing and expanding one’s vocabulary reading texts similar in style and purpose can help one gain a better sense of what diction “works” in that context. If you need more inspiration, you can continue looking through entries for different words until you find the right one. Similarly, for many word processing programs, you can right-click on a word to find synonyms. While writing, i f you don’t know a synonym for a word, you can look it up in a thesaurus. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.Īnother simple but effective way of finding the right word is to think about subtle differences between synonyms. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Writing Letters of Recommendation for StudentsĬopyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University.

Synonym website for writers