550+ Alternative Words for "Said"

Since 1994, short stories by AJ Barnett have appeared in magazines, summer specials, international competitions, and on Kindle.

Is it your dream, your fantasy, to write a bestseller? Do you have a story in your head, but the word "said" keeps getting in the way? If we write, then somewhere along the line we'll run into the word "said," one of the most common dialogue tags. But what is a dialogue tag, you ask?

What Is a Dialogue Tag?

In writing, a dialogue tag is a group of words that follow a line of speech. They provide information about the words between the quotation marks, such as

• who is speaking (he, she, they, Danny, Lucy)
• at what volume (shouted, yelled, whispered)
• in what tone (moaned, babbled, howled)

By using dialogue tags, writers are able to explain to readers the way in which their characters are speaking and the emotions that should be inferred from the inflection of their words.

Is It Okay to Repeat "He Said, She Said" When Writing Dialogue?

Repeating "he said, she said," can get annoying, but is it smart to use a different verb? There are abundant words to use instead, yet purists believe you're probably best not using them since readers pay such little attention to "said" it effectively becomes invisible.

A good practice to follow is that when it’s clear who is speaking the line of dialogue, you can remove the verb completely. It's surprising how much more professional your work will look if you do. In fact, let's make a rule: if it's obvious who's speaking, don't use a dialogue tag.

You should only substitute "said" if the line of dialogue needs accentuation or to convey the way the words are expressed. Gorging your story with alternative words for "said" makes your work look amateurish, so be sure to use alternatives with moderation.

Synonyms for "Say"

Other Words for "Said," by Emotion

Sometimes you need to indicate who's speaking, but the word "said" doesn't quite do the job. If you’re struggling to find that elusive and perfect substitute, here’s a list of words (categorized by emotion) that might help.

Said With Acceptance

Accepted, acknowledged, admitted, affirmed, agreed, assumed, conferred, confessed, confirmed, justified, settled, understood, undertook, verified.

Said in Anger

Accused, barked, bellowed, bossed, carped, censured, condemned, criticized, demanded, fumed, gawped, glowered, growled, grumbled, hissed ordered, raged, remonstrated, reprimanded, retorted, scoffed, scolded, seethed, snapped, snarled, ticked off, told off, upbraided.

Said Contemplatively

Contemplated, mused, pondered.

Said With Conviction

Addressed, advertised, articulated, bragged, commanded, confided, decided, dictated, ended, exacted, finished, informed, made known, maintained, necessitated, pointed out, promised, reassured, remarked, repeated, reported, specified, stated, told.

Said With Desire

Attracted, requested, wanted.

Said With Excitement

Babbled, beamed, blurted, broadcasted, burst, cheered, chortled, chuckled, cried out, crooned, crowed, declared, emitted, exclaimed, giggled, hollered, howled, interjected, jabbered, laughed, praised, preached, presented, proclaimed, professed, promulgated, quaked, ranted, rejoiced, roared, screamed, shouted, shrieked, swore, thundered, trilled, trumpeted, vociferated, wailed, yawped, yelled, yelped, yowled.

Said Fearfully

Cautioned, shuddered, trembled, warned.

Said Generously

Comforted, consoled, empathized, invited, offered, proffered, released, volunteered.

Said Persuasively

Advised, alleged, appealed, asserted, assured, avered, avowed, beckoned, begged, beseeched, cajoled, claimed, conceded, concluded, concurred, contended, defended, disposed, encouraged, entreated, held, hinted, implied, implored, importuned, inclined, indicated, insisted, pleaded, postulated, premised, presupposed, protested, stressed, suggested, touted, urged, vouched for, wheedled.

Said With Pride

Chimed in, circulated, disseminated, distributed, expressed, grinned, made public, passed on, publicized, published, put forth, put out, quipped, quizzed, quoted, reckoned that, required, requisitioned, taunted, teased.

Said Provocatively

Exposed, imitated, joked, leered, lied, mimicked, mocked, provoked.

Said in Sadness

Agonized, bawled, blubbered, grieved, groaned, lamented, mewled, mourned, puled, sobbed, wept.

Said to Tell a Story

Announced, answered, began, called, commented, continued, denoted, disclosed, divulged, explained, imparted, noted, observed, proposed, rejoined, replied, revealed, shared, solicited, sought, testified, transferred, transmitted, went on.

Said Uncertainly

Asked, doubted, faltered, fretted, guessed, hesitated, hypothesized, inquired, lilted, quavered, queried, questioned, shrugged, speculated, stammered, stuttered, supposed, trailed off, wondered.

Words That Indicate How Words Were Said

Breathed, choked, croaked, drawled, echoed, grunted, keened, moaned, mumbled, murmured, panted, sang, sniffled, sniveled, snorted, spluttered, squeaked, uttered, voiced, whimpered, whined, whispered.

Other Words for "Asked"

When writing an inquisitive character, sometimes the standard "asked" can become a bit stale. Try using these alternatives when you want to add some variety to your dialogue.

Other Words for "Stated"

Instead of repeatedly using stated to express the way in which a character delivers their words, try using one of these more descriptive alternatives.

Adverbs and Phrases to Explain How Something Was Said

Okay, so despite the warning, you’ve decided you really need to use an alternate word for "said." In order to make your writing absolutely zing, you might want to go whole-hog and add an adverb or a phrase to convey or emphasize exactly how the line of dialogue was spoken.

An adverb is a word ending in -ly that modifies a verb.

The way it works is you choose whichever word for "said" you fancy from the list above, then add an adverb or phrase after it from the list below. For example, "She promised, with a controlled smile," or "He remarked, with a gloomy sigh." But do not overdo it. Be very careful not to end up sounding amateurish.

List of Adverbs for Dialogue

• Abruptly, Absently, Acidly, Angrily, Apologetically, Approvingly, Artfully
• Bemusedly, Begrudgingly, Badly, Beautifully, Believably
• Calmly, Caustically, Cheerfully, Complacently, Crossly
• Daintily, Daringly, Depressingly, Dryly
• Earnestly, Ebulliently, Egotistically, Enthusiastically
• Gallantly, Gently, Giddily, Gruffly
• Haltingly, Happily, Hastily, Hotly
• Impatiently, Indulgently, Innocently, Irritably
• Lamely, Lasciviously, Loftily, Loudly
• Mildly, Maliciously, Masterfully, Merrily, Mindlessly
• Naively, Naturally, Negatively, Noncommittally
• Obnoxiously, Offhandedly, Optimistically
• Pleasantly, Politely, Playfully, Perceptively, Pleadingly
• Quaintly, Quietly, Quickly, Queasily, Queerly
• Rakishly, Reflectively, Roughly, Rudely
• Sadly, Sympathetically, Sarcastically, Sincerely, Smugly, Soberly, Softly, Sparingly, Sternly
• Tartly, Tautly, Teasingly, Tightly, Truthfully, Thoughtfully
• Uncertainly, Unexpectedly, Urgently
• Vaguely, Vapidly, Vehemently
• Warmly, Wisely, Wordlessly, Wryly
• Xenophobically
• Yearningly, Yieldingly
• Zealously, Zestily

List of Phrases for Dialogue

"She said in a..."

casual voice, chiding tone, courteous manner, curious tenor, dry tone, flirtatious way, level voice, perpetually tired voice, rasping tone, small panicky voice, soothing pitch, voice soft with affection.

"She said with a..."

controlled smile, fond look, gloomy sigh, note of relief, sad grimace, tense smile, sense of guilt, sigh of irritation, burgeoning excitement.

"She said with..."

conviction, determination, fire, persistence, gentle remonstrance, graceful simplicity, mock astonishment, pleasure, quiet empathy, simple directness.

Other Phrases to Modify "Said"

• After a moment's reflection
• With false cheerfulness
• In a friendly fashion
• In quiet amazement
• Making the effort to sound reassuring
• Meaning the words more seriously than they sounded
• Sounding slightly brittle

How to Show Emotion Through Actions Instead of Adverbs

Since the use of adverbs can often make a writer look amateurish, many choose to use actions instead of adverbs to express emotion. For example, take the scenario below in which a man is feeling frustrated and angry upon learning that his girlfriend has been unfaithful. In the first example, adverbs are used. In the second, actions.

With adverbs:

"Where were you all night?" he asked.

"I was with someone else," she mumbled nervously.

"Someone else?" he boomed violently. "Someone else?"

With actions:

"Where were you all night?" he asked.

"I was with someone else," she replied, eyes downcast, fiddling with her fingernails.

"Someone else?" he said, slamming the table with his fist. "Someone else?"

It's easy to see that in most exchanges of dialogue, less is more. Let your reader imagine the emotions the characters are feeling by interpreting actions rather than by naming those emotions outright.

Stephen King on Adverbs for Dialogue Attribution

Below is Stephen King's take on the use of adverbs. His advice is to use adverbs very conservatively in order to keep the integrity of your writing intact.

"I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops. To put it another way, they’re like dandelions. If you have one on your lawn, it looks pretty and unique. If you fail to root it out, however, you find five the next day . . . fifty the day after that . . . and then, my brothers and sisters, your lawn is totally, completely, and profligately covered with dandelions. By then you see them for the weeds they really are, but by then it’s — GASP!! — too late.

I can be a good sport about adverbs, though. Yes I can. With one exception: dialogue attribution. I insist that you use the adverb in dialogue attribution only in the rarest and most special of occasions ... and not even then, if you can avoid it. Just to make sure we all know what we’re talking about, examine these three sentences:

‘Put it down!’ she shouted.
‘Give it back,’ he pleaded, ‘it’s mine.’
‘Don’t be such a fool, Jekyll,’ Utterson said.

In these sentences, shouted, pleaded, and said are verbs of dialogue attribution. Now look at these dubious revisions:

‘Put it down! she shouted menacingly.
‘Give it back,’ he pleaded abjectly, ‘it’s mine.’
‘Don’t be such a fool, Jekyll,’ Utterson said contemptuously.

The three latter sentences are all weaker than the three former ones, and most readers will see why immediately."

— Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir on the Craft

© 2009 ajbarnett

Comments

jerry on July 15, 2020:

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Anonymous writer on July 12, 2020:

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is being a gay nerd really a bad thing tho on July 09, 2020:

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wild cherry on June 22, 2020:

could we possibly remove Tommy Bailey because young children come on this site and Tommy's comment wasn't appropriate

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totally not a bot on May 30, 2020:

can you do said nervously?

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boy on May 12, 2020:

geez chill tommy

Snakes And Daggers on May 07, 2020:

Very useful, I can already see my writings becoming better.

Jeff on May 06, 2020:

Good

Anonymous on April 15, 2020:

Really helpful! Could use a 'normal' section. Words like said, stated. That stuff.

Sam on April 14, 2020:

Thank you so much! This is my go to for synonyms for "said" after Thesaurus.

no name on April 09, 2020:

you said names for said not 50 other words . this was a waist of my time thanks alot

Alpha on April 07, 2020:

I'm working on my seventh novel and need words to replace "Said." This website is extremely helpful, though it needs to be updated and have certain words added. It forgot quite a few. Other than that, this website it awesome.

Your dad on April 03, 2020:

Dis a helpful one.

Big D on March 31, 2020:

Tommy pal... it is "You're"

hahahaha :) ;) on March 30, 2020:

pretty good cite

how do i use shy in a sentence my sentence is

she shyly said, " hi my name is czarina.'

Brent on March 21, 2020:

"Mmmm, nice words,", she INTONED.

bobby on March 20, 2020:

Thank you! This helped a lot!

Siv0000nanter on March 11, 2020:

LORD THAT A LOT OF WORDS

Tommy Bailey on March 05, 2020:

Your all Gay Nerds and you know it

Nate on February 26, 2020:

I'd add 'dramatically'.

wasifa on February 10, 2020:

this helped soo much (in truth i am not very good at dialogue)

Ani on February 08, 2020:

I don't want to use said in my sentence but I can't think of any other words to replace it. Can you help?

Here's my sentence, "Oh! Yes, your lipstick," she said hurriedly. I don't want to use said but do I have a choice?

No need on February 04, 2020:

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No name on January 15, 2020:

This has been very helpful.

poop you on January 13, 2020:

what about said

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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO on December 17, 2019:

what about exhaustion

you forgot that

The ancient Greek fan on December 11, 2019:

very helpful, My teachers are telling me that they are impressed with my work because of my grammar.

pasta on December 07, 2019:

I would add mildly to the list

The man with a plan on December 05, 2019:

this mans plan os to use this can to make a van then use that van to get to tans house

gjgjh on December 05, 2019:

need definations

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potatolover on November 25, 2019:

very useful cause teacher said NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO USE SAID!!!!!!!!! in those exact words

Plip plop on November 24, 2019:

said is a good word

ToxicPeaTeminiteAscentRWQFSFASXCFNAFSPINEL on November 19, 2019:

REALLY HELPED MY NARRATIVE FALL INTO PLACE AT EVERY SINGLE POINT! #THx

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an idiot on November 15, 2019:

very cool and useful I used a lot of them in a story for class

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What's a name??? on November 14, 2019:

This was super helpful. I'm in the middle of writing a book and this improves my writing.

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Not here on November 07, 2019:

Very helpful!

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it was very helpful

tommy on November 04, 2019:

we are doing this at school

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backpack on November 01, 2019:

very helpful and definitely going to use this for my language arts class thank you

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bob on October 26, 2019:

this really helped me write my fairy tale on google docs. I needed something other than said, as my teacher EXPLAINED that said is a dead word. Thanks guys

hobbitgirl38 (this is my roblox user FOLLOW ME!) on October 23, 2019:

i hate using words like "said". its just so plain and wimpy. this website helped me extremely when i was writing an essay. tysm!

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Santa on October 22, 2019:

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Unknown on October 22, 2019:

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-Name not insterted for secruity purposes- on October 19, 2019:

Thanks! This was really helpful towards me. In middle school, we aren't allowed to say "said", and more into consulting this website, it was wonderful! It went straight to an 'A' !

pusheen lover on October 18, 2019:

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I needed to white all the words that replace and so this helped a ton

Nobody on October 12, 2019:

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Sadie on October 02, 2019:

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love it other wise!

:) on September 28, 2019:

This is very helpful, I'm doing some writing and I don't want to type 'Said' in the story, like, 9,521 times. THANK YOU!

Maya Staples on September 28, 2019:

i actually use the word 'said' a lot, but i always add "in a ____ tone" or "with a ____ (sneer, sniffle, grimace, guffaw, etc.)" to add emotion and description.

i want to commit spaghetti on September 27, 2019:

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Need more asked words!! PLS! #imlil'joe

Sam on September 19, 2019:

My professor makes us not use said of says so I used this website and it was great 10/10! :)

cool beans on September 12, 2019:

great resource, maybe more for "asked"?

Catherine James on September 04, 2019:

Very helpful

Hi on August 28, 2019:

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Amused on August 16, 2019:

This comment section, along with the names attached to them, is the best thing I've ever read

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pewdiepie on July 29, 2019:

i like

Jenna on July 27, 2019:

I really enjoy how the information is organized and how many ideas there are for replacing the word "said". Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the website it helped expand my dialogue horizons.

agatha davernport on July 21, 2019:

major steal in writing assignments !

margaret on June 27, 2019:

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potato on June 16, 2019:

this is really helpful in class no one and I mean no one is allowed to use the word SAID

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Jacob H on June 12, 2019:

Maybe you could put suggested

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Alyssa Jade Gilliam on June 07, 2019:

Very helpful, but the layout is a bit complicated :) definitely using again though!

Grammar Grandma on June 05, 2019:

There needs to be a comma between hissed and ordered in the "Anger" section. You're welcome!

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James on May 22, 2019:

You just need a list of words that replace said.

shrek on May 15, 2019:

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Yoda-Wise One on May 15, 2019:

Impressed is me.

:0 on May 14, 2019:

*mind has exploded*

Julia on May 12, 2019:

My teacher is not allowing the class to use 'dead words' such as said, so I found this very helpful

no name on May 06, 2019:

this helps me with my assignment thank you

Crystal on April 29, 2019:

A very useful website. I'm currently working on a fanfic, so using this website will definitely help a lot.

Brooke Owens on April 27, 2019:

Thank you soooo much! This was so helpfull. See, when I write I always seem to use the same word, like "said" and my writings were just getting boring. This helped me figure out other words to use instead of ones I use all the time. Thank you so, so, much!