550 Alternative Words for "Said"

Author:
ajbarnett
Updated date:
Apr 4, 2018

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

400-alternative-words-for-said — Deb Stgo

Is it your dream, your fantasy to write a bestseller? Do you have a book 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 beginning and end quotation marks such as

Who is speaking (i.e. he, she, they, Danny, Lucy)
Volume (i.e. shouted, yelled, whispered)
Tone (i.e. 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.

Other Words for "Said" by Emotion

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 understandable 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 anything.

You should only substitute "said" if the line of dialogue needs accentuation or verbalization 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 se alternatives with moderation.

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

Acceptance

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

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.

Contemplation

Contemplated, mused, pondered.

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.

Desire

Attracted, requested, wanted.

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.

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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.


Appealed	Begged	Beseeched
Contended	Entreated	Inclined
Insisted	Pleaded	Probed
Prodded	Protested	Cajoled
Stressed	Doubted	Faltered
Guessed	Hesitated	Hypothesized
Inquired	Lilted	Quavered
Queried	Questioned	Wondered

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.


Asserted	Concluded	Explained	Noted
Remarked	Reported	Specified	Told

Adverbs and Phrases to Explain How Something Was Said

Okay, so despite the warning, you’ve decided you really need to use one of the words above 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 said.

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

The way it works is you choose whichever word for "said" you fancy from the list above, then add a 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
Calmly, Caustically, Cheerfully, Complacently, Crossly
Depressingly, Dryly
Earnestly, Enthusiastically
Gently, Gruffly
Happily, Hotly
Impatiently, Indulgently, Informed sassily, Innocently, Inquired doubtfully, Irritably
Loftily, Loudly
Mentally shrugged
Naturally, Nodded agreeably, Not wanting to sound pushy, Noncommittally
Offhandedly, Optimistically
Pleasantly, Politely, Politely smooth, Promised in a motherly/fatherly way, Prompted gently Promptly,
Quietly
Reflectively, Roughly
Sadly, Sympathetically, Sarcastically, Sincerely, Smiled faintly, Smugly, Soberly, Softly, Sparingly, Sternly,
Tartly, Tautly, Teased softly, Tightly, Truthfully, Thoughtfully,
Uncertainly, Unexpectedly, Urgently
Vaguely
Went on loyally, Wilfully misunderstood, Without sounding unduly curious, Wryly
Xenophobically
Yearningly
Zealously

List of Phrases for Dialogue

"She said in a..."

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

"She said with a..."

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

"She said with..."

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

Other Phrases to Modify "Said"

After a moment's reflection
False cheerfulness
Friendly fashion
In quiet amazement
Made the effort to sound reassuring
Meaning the words more seriously than they sounded
Sounded slightly brittle

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.

"Someone out there is now accusing me of being tiresome and anal-retentive. I deny it. 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

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. Take, for example, 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.

"Where were you all night?" he asked.
"I was with someone else," she mumbled nervously.
"Someone else?" he boomed violently. "Someone else?"

"Where were you all night?" he asked.
"I was with someone else," she replied with her eyes downcast. She was 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 actions the characters are making and infer the emotions those actions suggest, rather than telling them the emotion outright.

Comments

jerry on July 15, 2020:

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Anonymous writer on July 12, 2020:

I go to this page whenever I can't think of a word to use instead of said. I should probably write it down, but going here is so much easier.

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

im technically a girl, yet i identify with "gay nerd" so intensely that one should be frightened

is being a gay nerd really a bad thing tho on July 02, 2020:

this page? my new religion. every night i pray to it, for it has swooped down from a heavenly place and salvaged my tainted works from the perils of 'said.'

Tilly 2 on June 30, 2020:

no O.M.G i`m a girl!

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?

billy bonkers on May 14, 2020:

this helped me a lot

i'm not bonkers anymore

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:

Very useful. I use this site for my book am writing.

Trash_Potato_OwO on January 22, 2020:

Very Helpful! I use this website often when writing!

No name on January 15, 2020:

This has been very helpful.

poop you on January 13, 2020:

what about said

yomama on January 10, 2020:

Website is like yomama

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

W0lfee on December 04, 2019:

Very good. Bookmarked!

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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

meredith monroe on November 18, 2019:

yes it good.

Jeff on November 15, 2019:

this sight has helped me choose words so I can create my book

an idiot on November 15, 2019:

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

thin mint on November 14, 2019:

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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.

joe on November 14, 2019:

this is good because im doing a big project

Not here on November 07, 2019:

Very helpful!

taesha on November 06, 2019:

it was very helpful

tommy on November 04, 2019:

we are doing this at school

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I like this site I think I won't Thanos snap this site like the rest of everything.

backpack on November 01, 2019:

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

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Xin on November 01, 2019:

What's the name of the book in the image? I want that book !!

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!

Garry on October 22, 2019:

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Santa on October 22, 2019:

really helpful it helped me a ton

Unknown on October 22, 2019:

This website is the best ever for school work! My teacher told me about it and I will use it for the rest of my work.

-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:

so many fancy words! I love it!

Derpy on October 17, 2019:

wow this is so cool!

Caitlyn Ferguson on October 15, 2019:

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

Nobody on October 12, 2019:

This website was so helpful!!!! It helped me with my homework.

This website is botted on October 08, 2019:

botted i tell yu but it realy helped so thx

Anger 82342 hate on October 08, 2019:

this helped a lot thx for the great words your a genus

wifebeater123 on October 04, 2019:

Thanks!

iiiiiiiiii on October 03, 2019:

this is great thanks!

Sadie on October 02, 2019:

Like it, but layout is a bit hard to understand

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:

m yes very helpful 10/10

fortnite sucks on September 25, 2019:

pretty cool

Lil' Joe on September 25, 2019:

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

clayton Nguyen on August 05, 2019:

its bad

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:

website is very help full

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

i want to commit pasta on June 14, 2019:

this website is the real gucci

Jacob H on June 12, 2019:

Maybe you could put suggested

no name on June 12, 2019:

This website is really helpful to me.

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!

Dora the explorer on May 29, 2019:

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dis is cool on May 27, 2019:

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Tyrone on May 23, 2019:

Thankyou kanye very cool

James on May 22, 2019:

You just need a list of words that replace said.

shrek on May 15, 2019:

this is it chief

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!