power words for essays

801+ Power Words That Pack a Punch & Convert like Crazy

by Jon Morrow

on Aug 8, 2024

Freebie: Power Words PDF

Power words are like a “cheat code” for boosting conversion rates.

Sprinkle in a few, and you can transform dull, lifeless words into persuasive words that compel readers to take action.

And the best part?

You can use them anywhere.

In this post, you’ll learn how to use power words like a kung fu master. Specifically:

• The definition of power words (and why they’re so powerful);
• The 7 types of power words proven to increase conversions;
• Examples of how bloggers, freelance writers, and businesses are using powerful words to boost conversions;
• A huge power words list you can use, bookmark, and reference (again and again).

Want to bring your ideas to life, to make them take up residence in the reader’s mind, lurking in the background, tugging, pulling, and cajoling their emotions until they think and feel exactly as you want?

Then you’re going to love this post.

Let’s dive in.

What are Power Words?

Power words are persuasive, descriptive words that trigger a positive or negative emotional response. They can make us feel scared, encouraged, aroused, angry, greedy, safe, or curious. Authors, freelance writers , copywriters , and content marketers use “power words” to spice up their content and compel audiences to take action.

Clear as mud?

Let’s deconstruct an example from the great Winston Churchill. All the power words are underlined:

Inspiring, right?

Here’s why:

Power Words = Emotional Words Packed with Persuasion

Smart speakers, as well as their speechwriters, sprinkle their speeches with carefully-chosen power words drenched in sensory details , drawing the target audience from one emotion to another as skillfully as any novelist or screenwriter.

And it goes beyond speakers and storytellers.

Email marketing messages, copywriting , infographics, step-by-step tutorials, sales pages, inspirational quotes , content marketing , case studies , calls to action , testimonials , tweets , and other social media posts are all designed to influence the reader (and prospective customers) in some way. You want to pass along information, yes, but you also want the reader to feel a certain way about that information.

Maybe you want to impress them, get them excited, make them cautious, get them angry, encourage them to keep going, trigger curiosity, create urgency, build trust with them, or any number of emotions. The better a job you do at making them feel, the more influential you are, and the better your chances of getting what you want.

Looking for a quick way to give your writing more punch ?

Maybe add a little personality or pizzazz — that extra little “oomph” that grabs your reader’s attention?

Then you need to expand your vocabulary and infuse your content with emotional power words.

The 7 Different Types of Power Words

• Fear Power Words
• Encouragement Power Words
• Lust Power Words
• Anger Power Words
• Greed Power Words
• Safety Power Words
• Forbidden Power Words

We’ve organized our power words into seven different types, which all accomplish the same goal: Each elicits emotion in your reader.

Let’s go over each type and see why these words work.

1. Fear Power Words

Let’s do a little experiment.

Just for a moment, stop reading this post, turn on the television, and go to a major news channel. Watch it for five minutes, listening for the words below.

Chances are, you’ll hear dozens of them. Here’s why:

Fear is without a doubt the most powerful emotion for grabbing and keeping an audience’s attention. To make sure you don’t change the channel, news networks load up with fear words, making you worry you might miss something important.

Granted, you can overdo it, but in my opinion, most writers don’t use these types of words nearly enough. They really do connect with people.

How to Crank Up Emotion with Fear Words

Here’s an example of a blog post headline here at Smart Blogger that utilizes three different fear words:

Open it and you’re greeted by this fear-packed introduction:

Waves of pain unimaginable shot down my spine, causing every muscle in my body to contract as if I’d been shocked with 20,000 volts of electricity. My back arched up at an unnatural angle. My arms and legs began to shake.

Pretty effective, right?

Here’s another one:

If I’m working from my home office , will I lose my sanity if I don’t read this post? There’s only one way to find out. (Click!)

Want to sprinkle fear power words into your writing? Here are a bunch to get you started:

2. Encouragement Power Words

Let’s face it.

When they’re reading, most people aren’t exactly bouncing off the walls with energy and enthusiasm. They’re probably bored, maybe a little depressed, and almost definitely tired.

And they’re looking for something, anything, that’ll wake them up and make them feel better.

The good news?

Your writing can do that for them.

How to Crank Up Emotion with Encouragement Words

Here’s an example email from Mirasee:

With two encouraging words — life-changing and magic — in one email subject line, it’s a message that stands out in most inboxes.

Want to give your readers a pep talk and get them charged up again? Want to encourage them?

Use these persuasive words and adjectives:

3. Lust Power Words

Like it or not, lust is one of the core human emotions .

Just look at the men’s and women’s magazines in the checkout aisle, and you’ll see what I mean. Nearly every headline on the cover is either blatantly or indirectly about sex.

And it works, not just for headlines in men’s and women’s magazines, but for messages to your email list , subheads in your articles, marketing copy — anything.

As a writer (or marketer ), you can use words that inspire lust to make almost anything intriguing.

How to Crank Up Emotion with Lust Words

See if you can spot the lust words in this headline from Cosmopolitan:

Okay, the orange underlines probably give it away, but my hunch is you didn’t need them.

Power words like captivating and love jump off the page. And if you use them properly, they can stir all sorts of emotions in your readers’ heads. (Want to see your click-through rates soar? Add a lust power word or two.)

Here’s a power words list of descriptive words to get you started:

4. Anger Power Words

As writers, sometimes our job is to anger people.

Not for the fun of it, mind you, but because someone is doing something wrong, and the community needs to take action to correct it.

The problem is, with wrongdoing, most people are pretty apathetic — they’ll wait until the situation becomes entirely intolerable to do anything, and by then, it’s often too late.

So, we have to fan the flames.

How to Crank Up Emotion with Anger Words

The authors of this Forbes headline don’t pull any punches:

I didn’t realize some people get angry over business jargon , but apparently it’s a thing. And this headline, undoubtedly, had such people frothing at the mouth.

If you want to connect with people’s anger and slowly but surely work them into a frenzy, use the power words below.

Just be careful who you target. Lawyers can eat you alive if you pick on the wrong person. 🙂

5. Greed Power Words

The legendary copywriter Gary Halbert once said, “If you want people to buy something, stomp on their greed glands until they bleed.” Graphic, yes, but also true.

Skim through good digital marketing campaign copy on an e-commerce site, and you’ll find a lot of power words based on vanity or greed. Many of them are so overused they’ve become cliché, but that doesn’t stop them from working.

The truth is, nearly every human being on the planet is interested in making money  (or saving money ).

How to Crank Up Emotion with Greed Words

Its explicit and implicit use of greed words makes this popular book from Dave Ramsey a great example:

“Money” is hard to miss — it’s probably the ultimate greed word and it’s sitting there in capital letters.

But a title like “Total Money Makeover” also implies another greed word (even though it doesn’t directly state it): money-saving .

(It also gets bonus points for using alliteration and the safety power word “proven”, which we’ll discuss in a moment.)

If you want to stomp (which is also an excellent example of onomatopoeia , by the way) on your readers’ greed glands, use these power words:

6. Safety Power Words

Greed isn’t the only emotion you want buyers to feel. You also want to make them feel safe.

They need to trust both you and your product or service. They need to have confidence you’ll deliver, and they need to believe they’ll get results.

Of course, building that kind of trust starts with having a quality brand and reputation, but the words you use to describe yourself and your product or service also matter.

How to Crank Up Emotion with Safety Words

On the landing page for one of our Smart Blogger courses, we use power words to make sure our potential customers feel safe:

In addition to “legitimate” and “guaranteed” in the screenshot above, our landing page is sprinkled with numerous safety words:

They work for us, and they can work for you.

Help your customers feel safe by using as many of these power words as possible:

7. Forbidden Power Words

Remember when you were a kid, and someone told you NOT to do something? From that point on, you could think about little else, right? Curiosity always got the better of us.

The truth is, we’re all fascinated by the mysterious and forbidden. It’s like it’s programmed into our very nature.

So why not tap into that programming?

How to Crank Up Emotion with Forbidden Words

This Ahrefs article tempts you with its headline:

What’s the “secret”? Only one way to find out.

Whenever you want to create curiosity, sprinkle these curiosity power words throughout your writing, and readers won’t be able to help being intrigued:

Powerful Words in Action: 14 Places Where Strong Words Can Help You

• Email Subject Lines
• Opt-In Boxes
• Business Names/Blog Names
• Product Names
• Sales Pages
• Testimonials
• Bullet Lists
• Button Copy (Call to Action Words)
• Author Bios
• YouTube Videos
• Book Titles

1. Using Power Words in Headlines

Any writer or blogger who’s been in the game for a while knows the headline is the most important part of writing your blog post .

Its purpose, after all, is to entice the reader to read the rest of your content. If your headline fails to get attention, potential readers will ignore it when it shows up in their tweets and social media feeds.

And just one or two power words in your headline is usually enough to make it stand out.

Just look at this headline from BuzzFeed:

The word choice of “Unveiled” makes it feel like a secret is being exposed, and the word “Breathtaking” makes you curious to see what the photo looks like.

Here’s another example from BoredPanda:

People generally love anything adorable, so this headline will easily catch attention. (The fact that it refers to snakes will only make people more curious.)

The headline then drives it home by using the power verb “Conquer.”

Here’s one from BrightSide:

While one or two power words are often enough, this headline proves you can use more when it fits.

This headline has four powerful words, but they feel natural in the headline, which keeps it from feeling like over-the-top clickbait.

Here’s one from Smart Blogger:

Greed (“best”) and anger (“not-so-good”) words highlight the headline for Smart Blogger’s recent review of SiteGround .

This headline from our How to Make Money Writing: 5 Ways to Get Paid to Write in 2024  post incorporates two greed words: “money” and “get paid.”

It’s one of our most popular posts, and its headline’s use of power words is a big reason why.

2. Using Power Words in Subheads

Too many writers overlook the value of subheads , which is a mistake. Once people click on your headline, most will scan the post first to see if it looks worthy of their attention.

Adding some power words to your subheads is a good way to make your post look like an interesting read.

For example, here are three subheads from our post on E-book mistakes :

See how the power words in these subheads grab your attention and make you want to read the text that follows?

Power words can help with SEO too. Adding an SEO power word to your subheads will compel readers to stick around longer, which will increase your dwell time — a big deal in Google’s eyes.

3. Using Power Words in Email Subject Lines

Having an email list is of little use if only a handful of readers bother to open your emails.

And these days, most people’s inboxes are flooded, so they’re selective in which emails they open.

You can stand out in their inbox and raise your open rates by including power words in your subject lines .

Just look at this one from Ramit Sethi:

If this subject line would’ve read “The rules of learning,” do you think it would be as appealing? The powerful word “unspoken” is what makes it interesting.

Here’s another one from Cal Fussman:

Both “Triumph” and “Tragedy” are powerful words full of emotion.

And finally, here’s a good example from AppSumo:

The power phrase “Unleash the power” makes you feel this email is hiding something incredibly powerful inside.

See how that works?

When you send out emails to your list, try to add a strong word to your subject line so it stands out in a prospect’s inbox.

4. Using Power Words in Opt-In Boxes

As a blogger, one of your main goals is to grow a large and engaged readership, and the best way to do it is by converting readers into subscribers.

That means — unless you’re using a blogging platform like Medium which doesn’t allow them — you should have opt-in forms scattered across your website.

You can place them on your homepage, at the end of your posts, in your sidebar, in a popup, or anywhere else.

But no matter where you place them, your opt-in boxes must catch people’s eye and make them want to share their email address with you. Because they won’t give it away to just anyone.

(Remember, their inboxes are already flooded, so they’re not necessarily eager to get even more emails.)

Fortunately, you can use power words to make your offer more enticing.

As an example, here’s an old popup from Cosmopolitan:

This popup had power words everywhere, but it avoided feeling like overkill. I bet it converted like crazy.

Here’s a slightly more subtle example from Betty Means Business:

It’s understated, but still quite effective.

Again, you don’t have to overdo it with the power words on these. A little can go a long way.

Here’s one final example from Renegade Planner:

If you’re not using power words in your opt-in boxes, you’re missing out.

5. Using Power Words on Your Homepage

Your homepage is the face of your website and it’s usually one of the most visited pages. Many people who visit your website will see this page first, so you want it to make a good first impression.

Some people use their homepage to promote their email list, others use it to promote one of their products, and others use it as a red carpet — welcoming new visitors and explaining what their site is all about.

In any case, your homepage is a good spot to add a few power words, as it can determine whether people stay (and take the action you want them to take) or leave (never to return).

Look at this value proposition on the homepage for Nerd Fitness:

“Nerds,” “Misfits,” and “Mutants” are unusual power words that work well for Nerd Fitness’ target audience. These words immediately separate it from all the other fitness blogs out there.

But they push it even further with “Strong,” “Healthy,” and “Permanently.”

Here’s another value proposition from MainStreetHost’s homepage:

It’s quite minimal, isn’t it? They just wrote down three power words and follow it up with a service they provide.

Of course, you don’t have to limit your use of power words to the top of your homepage.

You can use it in other parts of the homepage too, as Ramit Sethi does here in his list of what you’ll get when you sign up for his email list:

Go look at your homepage now and see if you can find any areas you can spruce up with some power words.

6. Using Power Words in Business Names/Blog Names

Having a forgettable name is poison to your website’s growth. So when you start a blog , you want to make sure you have a name people can easily recall.

If you haven’t chosen your blog name yet (or if you’re thinking about rebranding), you should use a SEO power word to give it some punch. The right word will make you stand out from all the boring, forgettable brands out there.

Just take a look at the collection of blog names below and see how well they’ve incorporated power words:

7. Using Power Words in Product Names

Just like you can use power words to spruce up your blog name, you can also use them to make your product names pack more of a punch.

It can make the difference between your potential customers thinking, “Ooh, this product sounds cool!” and them thinking, “Meh.”

Just check out this subscription product from Nerd Fitness:

It has such a powerful name that you’d almost want to sign up without learning anything else about it. Who wouldn’t want to be part of a community of rising heroes?

Here’s another good example from Pat Flynn:

It’s a powerful name for his podcasting course that instantly informs you of the benefit.

So if you’re about to launch a product (or if you’ve launched a product with a tepid name), consider giving it a power word to make it pack a punch.

8. Using Power Words on Sales Pages

You can also use power words to spruce up the copywriting on your sales pages and make them more effective at selling your e-commerce products or services.

They will grab people’s attention when they arrive on the page, they will keep their attention as they scroll down, and they’ll help seduce readers before they reach your “buy” button.

Just look at this headline on Ramit Sethi’s sales page for his product 50 Proven Email Scripts (which also has a power word in its name):

And as you scroll down, you see he keeps using power words throughout his sales page.

His headline is followed by emotion-packed subheads:

And he even uses power words in his guarantee:

9. Using Power Words in Testimonials

Power words are also tremendously effective in testimonials.

Of course, I’m not suggesting you change people’s testimonials to include power words. But you can certainly select the ones that already use them to great effect.

Just look at this example from Betty Means Business:

Or look at this one from Farideh’s blog:

And here’s another example from Renegade Planner:

All these testimonials will lend extra credibility and excitement due to their power words and phrases.

10. Using Power Words in Bullet Lists

Many sales pages include a list of benefits of the product they’re selling. Many opt-in forms include a huge list of reasons you should sign up to their email list. And many case studies use bullet lists to quickly summarize information.

You can use power words in these lists to inspire more excitement in your reader as they read through them.

Here’s one example from Ramit Sethi’s sales page for his How to Talk to Anyone course:

And here’s another example from an opt-in form on Restart Your Style:

Without these power words, these lists wouldn’t convince nearly as many prospects to buy or subscribe.

11. Using Power Words in Button Copy and CTA (Call to Action Words)

Yep, you can use power words in your CTA button copy too — even if you only have a few words you can fit in there.

One of the most common power words used in buttons is “Free” (as in the example below):

But you can be more creative with buttons than you might think.

Takes this button from the sales page for the book The Renegade Diet :

“Immediate,” “Money Back,” and “Guarantee” are all incredibly powerful words, and the author manages to squeeze them all into one button.

Here’s an example from Tim Ferris:

He could’ve used “Send Me the List” as most people would do, but the specific word “Unlock” makes it sound a lot more intriguing — like you’re getting access to something that’s been kept hidden away.

Now take a look at the buttons on your site.

Do you see any opportunities to spruce them up with a power word?

12. Using Power Words in Author Bios

Your author bio is another extremely important part of your marketing strategy .

When you guest post for another blog (or write a paid article as a freelancer) , your author bio has the difficult job of making readers want to know more about you so they click through to your site.

That means your author bio needs to spark attention and interest. And you usually only get three sentences, so you need to carefully consider the words you use.

As an example, here’s the author bio from Henneke Duistermaat in her ultimate guide on overcoming writer’s block :

Henneke’s author bio is full of power words. It shows her uniqueness and makes her stand out from other copywriters.

You can tell she has carefully picked each perfect word for maximum impact.

Here’s another example from Sarah Peterson’s post on blog ads :

She opens strong immediately by mentioning her guides are insanely useful. And just the name of her report alone is full of power words: “Free,” “Reveal,” and “Begging.”

Makes you want to get your hands on that report, doesn’t it?

13. Using Power Words on YouTube Videos

If you’re publishing videos on YouTube and you want to get more views, you should use power words in your titles.

All the biggest YouTube channels do this.

They understand most of their views will come from their subscribers finding them in their feeds, and from people finding them in the sidebar of other videos.

In both cases, you’re competing with many other videos for their attention. If you want your video to stand out and be the one they choose to watch, your title has to be captivating.

See how Philip DeFranco does it below:

“Disgusting,” “Punishment,” and “Controversy” are all attention-grabbing words (and that’s besides the attention-grabbing names of Brock Turner, Star Wars, and Kim Kardashian).

Note also how he has capitalized “Disgusting.” It’s another smart trick many YouTube channels use to stand out more in YouTube’s lists of video suggestions.

Style vlogger Aaron Marino often does it as well:

By capitalizing the power words “Don’ts” and “Stupid,” his title catches a lot more attention (as you can see for yourself by the millions of views it’s received).

14. Using Power Words in Book Titles

If you’re interested in writing your own book , adding power words to your titles will help it sell better.

With all the competition in the book market these days, you need a title that grabs people’s attention and makes them want to peek inside.

Here are a few quick grabs from Amazon’s list of bestsellers in the self-help niche:

I’m sure you’ve seen this title before.

You might say Stephen Covey’s use of power words in his title has been highly effective. (See what I did there?)

Here’s another:

Mark Manson’s bestselling title is packed with power.

The power word “Subtle” juxtaposes well with the F-bomb in the title, and his use of “Counterintuitive” will spark some interest as well.

Lastly, Jen Sincero’s encouraging book title makes you want to flip it open and read it in one go.

Go Ahead and Tell Me. What Powerful Words Did I Miss?

They’re known by many names…

Emotion words. Good words. Strong words . Powerful words, creative words, sensory words, trigger words, persuasive words, curiosity words, descriptive words, impactful words, interesting words, positive words, unique words, action words, and even — yes, seriously — awesome words.

But whatever you call them; smart, attractive people such as yourself have mastered the strategic use of power words and use this valuable communication skill every day to pack their writing with emotion so they can increase conversions.

Yes, this is an enormous list of words, but with so many power words and power phrases available, you’d need a thesaurus or Word of the Day dictionary to catch every single word on the first pass. (Plus, new words seem to be added to the English language every day.)

What are some other good words that seem to have that extra little spark of emotion inside them? Do you have favorite power words? What are some other ways you can use power words that I didn’t go over (a Facebook ad, a resume headline, cover letter, etc.)?

Share them in a comment below.

Jon has asked repeatedly to be called “His Royal Awesomeness” but no one listens to him. So, he settles for CEO of Smart Blogger.

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Written by Jon Morrow

265 thoughts on “801+ power words that pack a punch & convert like crazy”.

Thanks Jon, what a great resource. I’ve already tweeted it out.

Excellent as always! Thanks so much Jon for this great insight.

Love this post too. : ) Each post is detailed and, like you said, excellent.

Jules and Esther, I started putting some of these words into practice and I’m already receiving results through more traffic when I share a new post on my blog. I simply use them in Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin shares which is something you might want to try even if it’s just for practice.

Thanks again for sharing these with us Jon and while I’m here, thanks for the great webinar yesterday. I took a lot of notes from it! 🙂

Yup another post that makes your stomach churns and your mind inspired and enriched… Thank you your awesomeness…

I have to say, I find that most self-help postings are statements of the glaringly obvious at best, and utter nonsense at worst. But this is really, really good.

Thanks for the list, Jon. It definitely gives me some food for thought… but I will tell you that after glancing through the list, it seems like a lot of the words are negative.

I’m curious if anyone else noticed that, or if my scanning just grabbed the negative ones. I read someone that our brains latch onto and hold onto the negative more than the positive so maybe that’s why?

Well, I noticed the Fearmonger and Riot categories were negative but that’s for obvious reasons.

I didn’t notice that to be the case with Feel Safe or Pep Talk.. Did you?

My mind naturally goes to the outrageous with Headlines so for me the challenge is to make sure I’m not misleading.. and to deliver what the Headline promises.

The fear section is the largest one, and yes, those are definitely negative. You could argue it’s a personal bias on my part,, but my guess is we have more words to describe fear than any other emotion. Not because we’re afraid all the time, but because fear is one of those emotions that pretty much dominates everything else.

Excellent. Copy, pasted and saved in my swipe file. Thanks Jon for making life easier for the rest of us.

Julie, fear is the most powerful emotion and is so instilled in our collective conscious and we obviously lust after it because the news media keeps peddling fear every night.

Also, Hollywood is brilliant at cashing in on fear with movies like World War Z and 2012.

They say sex sells but I think fear sells more and that’s probably why we have more negative words than positive ones.

I bet Jon that if you punched every one of those 317 words into a thesaurus you will reach your 1000 word goal very quickly. You know, I think I will do just that.

Or to put it more cynically, Jon, fear sell lots of stuff. Thanks for the list. Paradoxically, sentences constructed negatively are a turn-off.

Academic research has shown that the psychological impact of a negative event is approximately twice in value/significance as a positive event. In other words, we are psychologically wired to respond — at an instinctual level — to anything that could cause harm. This is why copy/words with negative themes trigger more reaction than positive themes.

Can you point me to a source on this “academic research”? Please and thank you!

Great list Jon, thank you. You used, what I perceive to be, a power word in your title and sub title, but I couldn’t see it in the list…

“Instantly”

In today’s world where delayed gratification is so last season, we all want instant results, right!?

+1 brownie points for noticing that. 🙂

Can I get brownie points for noticing that one too?

On the topic of ‘fear’ appeals, research shows that 60 per cent of the population is more tuned into avoiding a ‘pain’ than making a ‘gain.’ UNLESS you’re talking to people like CEOs: 90 per cent of them are tuned into making a ‘gain.’

Love your work, Jon. Thanks for this very helpful post.

Awesome list Jon. I use your “52 Headline Hacks” guide all the time and it has really helped my blogs get read a lot more and far more social sharing. Thanks for the great information!

Awesome! Would love to see your results if there is anything in particular you’d like to share.

I love the list but some of the words also make you sound sleazy. Like backdoor. And secrets has been done to death. Okay I’ll admit that everything in the forbidden fruit section is making me feel icky 🙂

A power words is defined by its ability to make you feel. If the forbidden words are making you feel icky, that just proves their power. 🙂

Also, secrets may have been used to death, but that doesn’t make it any less powerful. People continue using it because it works.

There’s a branding thing at work here, isn’t there? I find that with Jon’s Headline Hacks — some work great for me, others make me shudder and would be off-putting to my audience (but I guess I can see that they’d work for some folk!)

I like “little-known” as a slightly tamer version of a forbidden fruit word. Also “unusual” and “under-used”.

Great list, Jon, thanks for the reminders.

I’m copying and pasting this one into my permanent writing file.

This is a great list! I copied it into OneNote, and I’ll be sure to come back to check for updates.

Thanks so much for a great, extended list of power words which I will dutifully and studiously commit to memory and learn how to use.

Thank you for your excellent posts and continued professionalism.

PLEASE keep up the “Confidential, Amazing, Breathtaking and Eye-Opening” work.

Thank you so much!

I added this to my Evernote “Power Words” note; I have over 1,500 power words. Now I’ll have over 1,800 power words to use. 🙂

Oooh! We need to compare lists! 🙂

Some of my favorites from my list are:

A Cut Above Absolutely Announced Anyone Can Do This Approved By Major Companies Astonishing Astounded Audit(ed) Balance(d) Bandwagon Bargain Beautiful (overused) Believe Benefit Beneficial Before and After Beware Big Blown Away (also a good song by Carrie Underwood) Bold Bottom Line Capture(d) Change(d) Charge(d) Colorful Colossal Congratulations! Crucial Don’t be Left Behind Earn More Money! Envy(ied) Extraordinary Favorable Find the Answer to Foolproof Get Results Now! Gigantic Hottest How to (oldie but goody) In-Depth In-Demand Invited Join Now! Judgment Killer Strategy Last Minute Late-Breaking Learn About Lifetime Like No Other Master of Your Destiny Minimal Investment Money-Making Money-Saving Most Underrated No Experience Necessary No Experience Necessary No Obligation No Risk (on your list) Nostalgic (I like this word) Now is the Time! Odd Organized Outstanding People Helping People Pioneered Priceless Quit Quiet Quick Tips Rare Realize Your Dreams Reap the Benefits Red Hot Safe Save Thousands Secure(d) Sensational Simple Savvy Sky-Rocket(ed) Small Investment Smart Speedy Stand Out from the Crowd State-of-the-Art Step-by-Step Stop Wasting Time! Substantial Savings! Super (Savings) (Sale) Sure-Fire Tap Into Terrific Thousands Treated Tremendous Ultimate Ultra Underrated Unique Unlock (oldie but goody) Urge(d) Urgent Validation Validated Value Valuable Vibrant Warning (an oldie but goody) Wealth(y) Weird Wide Varity Win Witnessed Word-of-Mouth X-Ray Xanadu Year-Round You Young Your You Owe it to Yourself Zen Zest(y) Zinger

Great list! I even went back to read your article and noticed the power words used in it. Thanks!

Amandah, Thanks for sharing the list of words below! Some good ones in there. And Jon, thank you for a great post. Like many here, I have copied both lists into Evernote.

Great list, Jon. It’s not technically a word, but “NSFW” could fall under lust and curiosity. That one can work under the right circumstances.

Very true. Might be interesting to start an abbreviation category.

For some reason, when I clicked on the link to this post, again, I received a “Database Error Connection” error. I just thought I’d let you know.

Thanks. Yes, we seem to be having some technical issues. Investigating.

You are so right when you say that most of us don’t tend to use such powerful words in our posts or even the daily lives because we lose touch if we don’t use them regularly, and I speak as a blogger for now.

Speaking of myself, even though I might use such words when I speak to someone, I am careful to use words that even a 5th grade student would understand or based on the kind of readers I get over at my blog. So, I do need to keep the words very simple and easy to understand. This is for the purpose of blogging, though there are always exceptions.

I don’t say that’s the case with all the words, but yes, some of them, especially those where a person might need to refer to a dictonary, may be tough for me to use on my blog. I wonder if others feel the same way about using such words in their blog posts, even though I admit they are awesome power words, which we do use otherwise.

Thanks for sharing these with us. I’mm surely bookmarking this as I’ve got my list of a few words I’d written earlier too, so, would just keep adding onto it whenever you update this one. Have a nice week ahead 🙂

Sure. You probably wouldn’t want to use “lascivious” around fifth-graders. I think they would understand about 75% of the words on this list, though. Like “breathtaking” or “hero.”

Great post. So many good words now to learn how to put the story together. Thanks Jon once again for sharing

Another great post, Jon,and a keeper along with the “52 Headline Hacks.” Thanks for sharing so generously.

A delicious literary stimulation, Jon. And your About The Author text is the icing.

You’re a legend, Jon!

This list is pure gold.

I’m certainly going to use it myself, and share it with my students.

You set a high standard for insanely useful content. We need people like you to inspire us, Jon

– Mary

Oh, and do join Jon and myself for his awesome free Webinar:

How to Write Irresistible Headlines and Instantly Double Your Traffic .

Yes, everyone go sign-up for the webinar. It’s going to be stupendous. 🙂

This is one of the best posts I’ve ever read, Jon. Very well done!

Since you asked us for our contributions, here are a few suggestions that might make your list. My apologies in advance if you already mentioned them:

Petrified Debilitating Decadent Rock Solid Brinks-Truck-Safe Chilling Goosebumps Diabolical Calculating Relentless Unbridled Mind-boggling Cocoon Slimy Squeaky Clean

Thanks for the list Michael!

Petrified a great word, and I want to add more to my list, because I forgot to add them at my post on the bottom (and again, sorry for any accidental repeats):

Crap, “Eff” (as in grow the “eff” up instead of saying “f*ck), effing (for f*cking), NMFP (not my f*cking problem), useless, lazy, menace, lethargic, r@pist, perpetrator, nuisance, leech, bloodsucker, catastrophe, trauma, terrified,

Oh…and one of my absolute favorite words…

Brinks-Truck-Safe – exceptional and one for my list! Thanks

Oh! This list is awesome! I’m going to go check out my previous posts to see how often I used these words. I know I could use more for sure. I use your headline hacks and they are amazing. I like the words suggested in the comments and will keep coming back for more!

More great advice from the inimitable Jon Morrow! Thanks for the power words–I’ve added this article to my stash of go-to writing resources.

It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut using the same boring words. I appreciate the way you have expanded our vocabularies with this post!

At the same time, I will proceed with caution. Some of the stock words like “insider” create aversion for me, and I imagine they might turn off people in my audience too.

In essence this post is about how to manipulate peoples’ emotions, which many have come to take for granted as a good way to make money. But I personally feel this is a realm in which it’s best to proceed carefully. The main takeaway for me is about enriching my vocabulary. Thanks for the kick in the right place!

Yep. If you think about it, pretty much all writers manipulate the emotions of their readers. It’s just part of what we do.

The key is doing it in a way your readers like and enjoy. That takes careful study and a lot of thought.

It’s like you mentioned above in your post, it takes ages of practice to learn to use all the different writing techniques out there, but using good vocabulary is a good starter. Just gotta be careful that it doesn’t end your career because of overuse!

One of my favourites is “explicit”. Combination of lust and forbidden fruit there. 😉

Good one, Sophie! 😉

That one is definitely going in the next version. 🙂

If you’re going to add “Explicit”, Jon, then “Taboo” deserves strong consideration as well. It’s lust and forbidden fruit all rolled into one. Thanks for the inspiration, Sophie! See what you started??!!!…:-)

I love this post. It along with your 52 Headline Hacks have given me a boatload of ideas for my content.

Here is one possible addition:

Great list, but I have taken a vow to stop using the word “amazing.” It is so overused that IMO it has lost its impact. Instead I try for something more descriptive, like “heart-stopping” or “marvelous” or “magical”… you get the picture.

Yep, heart stopping, marvelous, and magical have stronger emotional pulls too.

amazing for conjures up gordon ramsey describing food so for any food might be a good word. marvelous goes with darling and that is Joan Crawford and Joan Rivers so anything Joan or jewelry I would think…

I agree. The same goes for the word “awesome:” enough with it already! I remember when it meant something absolutely extraordinary, and now it has been demoted down to “cool.” I’ve never used the word in my life except to describe schooner sailing, writing, horseback riding, rock climbing, and camping (originally only for sailing). Though I may have slipped a few times…I’m only human, after all.

Your Royal Awesomeness – thank you for the awesome resource. The lists of power words I’ve used in the past pale in comparison to your Awesomeness. I’ve printed and added to my copywriting resource file. Mucho thanks!

I am super excited to get your mind-blowing list of wondrous power words. The post was an eye opener and such a bargain considering all you want in return is an endorsed share. 🙂 Thanks. Did I over do what I learned from your post? 🙂

Hey, at least you got the message down! 🙂

what about things like inspiring.

It would be great to see this topic in an updated headline hacks, or in its own pdf.

I have a God of Writing and his name is Jon.

Are their statues and other symbols for worshiping in your online store. I need many to adorn my home and to spread across the land to start a Morrow cult.

No need for purple Kool-Aid, just meditations where we read your posts and reach higher states of writing consciousness and eventually writing nirvana.

Thanks Jon, you are awesomely admirable.

(laughing) You’re welcome, man.

His Royal Highness, Awesomeness, Power Influencer…

Just printed out the power words to keep forever. Thanks.

Question: Would each industry/niche also have it’s own set of power words? i.e. in the disability community I think they would be: “inclusion, community, natural supports, family, jobs, friends…” –The impossible dream we are all seeking.

Your humble servant:)

I think you can use them all for pretty much all niches.

Jon, A very helpful post and especially timely for me because I’m working on a speech to give on Saturday and need some strong fear words.

Two words you might consider adding to that category are “brutal” and “exhausting” (or “exhausted”).

Super this collection! The only problem is how to keep this resource handy? 🙂 THank you so much, can’t think of a word you missed before I compute each one you gave us here! Llyane

Be sure to give it a bookmark. Also, we are preparing a PDF version. 🙂

Hi there Jon! This one really reminds me of a report Henneke Duistermaat launched way back called “21 Easy Tips to Turbocharge Your Web Copy and Win Customers” which touches on the subject of Power Words from another scope… would you call sensory words Power Words? If so, I would put them in categories in which the senses I want to stimulate are the ones that remind me of the category’s emotion right? For example: dazzling reminds me of something shiny and new so maybe I would put it in the Greed or Pep Talk category… other examples would be chirpy, sizzling, bland, smelly and any colorful (maybe this is a Power Word too LOL) adjectives… great post!

Ha, yeah, that would be another interesting way to organize them.

I was thinking exactly the same. That’s one of my favorite categories 🙂

A few more examples:

Gloomy, shadowy, glittering, sparkling, creepy, rotten, moldy, spicy, gritty, drab, roaring, squeaky.

There’s some interesting research into the power of sensory words: http://www.neurosciencemarketing.com/blog/articles/metaphor-marketing.htm

Maybe we can create another list for the five senses?

What the hell is this list jon… It’s enthralling. What about slangs, rude words?

Great List. Thanks Jon. The only thing missing is a group of words that create FUD (Fear, uncertainty and doubt).

The first group can probably help you with that.

Thanks Jon for the hard work you’ve done for us.

When I heard that I should use power words in my headlines, headings and in copy I agreed, but when I went to find them I didn’t know where to get them from. Watching news and magazine was an “a-ha” moment for me.

Stupendous post! Actually I was thinking of writing one along the same lines. There is so much content out there we have to grab the readers attention. Graphic, descriptive phrasing is a way to take them by the throat and force feed them what they need. 😉

Thanks for the eloquent reminder!

Nice idea,Jon. Synonyms are GOOD! Whee! (or Wow!) But, uh, didn’t Roget’s Thesaurus make that point – rather more comprehensively, some 100 year ago? Or am I, in my imbecility,(losing, missing, dropping, overlooking) something here? I love you truly, Jon. (I do.) But please clarify… and tell us, what in this post is truly new? 🙂

These aren’t synonyms. They are words that cause readers to feel a particular emotion.

Take a look again at the Winston Churchill example in the beginning.

Great! A list of powerful words that give much more impression when you used it. Thanks John for sharing.

Dear Jon, Thank you very much for your lists of powerful words. You are very kind to share them with us, your readers.

Celebrate you. Never Give Up Joan Y. Edwards

A few spur of the moment suggestions:

Big, Grand, Huge, Captivating, Rock Solid, Essential, One of a kind, Satisfying, Legendary, Full Access, Giant, Exquisite, Over the top, Thrilling, Momentuous, Bargain Basement, Free, Available, Now, Right Now, Low Ball, Ace, Prime, Primo, Diamond in the rough, Gem of a Deal, Envy of them all…

Nice list. Thanks Tzod.

Great list of words Jon. A good resource to get the creative juices flowing in telling a story and getting a point across. Thank you.

A generous post and resource thank you Jon. For me it’s a reminder to write with passion – to grab readers’ attention and engage them.

The post is an explanation for why a random post I did a long while back has always been more popular (on view count) than others – Confessions of A Recovering Adrenaline Junkie

As a therapist my work is all about power words. Thinking about recent sessions these come to mind: hunger, desperation, rage, alone, antidote, wish, dreams. Now if I can just hold on to them as move from my arm chair to my desk and write!

So true. Great insights.

Thanks Jon, I am going to love putting these words into use. I think I will even use the ones others have listed.

Senational post, Jon!

This is up there with Headline Hacks for sheer volume of awesome suggestions.

Here are a few that come to mind in no particular order:

Incendiary Diabolical Exclusive (can’t believe that didn’t make it into the Greed category) Dibilitating Paralysing Fabulous Psychotic Notorious

Funny about the timing of this post. I was about to publish a new post tonight but I’m gojng to go through it and sprinkle a little power fairy dust on it before it goes out.

Thanks again, Jon for some truly helpful ideas!

Awesomeness. Love “diabolical.” 🙂

One of my faves.

Great list. However, the editor in me has to ask about “pommel.” I bet you intended to use, “pummel,” which means to hit someone repeatedly. “Pommel” is a knob or protruding part on a sword or a saddle.

Good catch! Fixed.

Thank you Jon! I’ll definitely file this for safekeeping! 😀

Thanks for this awesome resource! Some of my favorites:

Eye-popping Juicy Cute Weird Freakish Geeky Nerdy Ugliest

Nice list, Jon.

If I’m learning that there’s one particular weakness in my writing then it’s probably the headline writing so making use of “power words” as you call them should help me out a little!

Bookmarked!

What an incredibly useful post. Many thanks for sharing.

I’m pleased that you have some of my favorite words on your lists. I have a short memory, so if some of these I present to you are already lists above, I apologize in advance.

Some more of my favorite words:

My #1 lately is…

Then I list these:

Intricate Exquisite Perturbed Disturbed Distressed Dismayed Discouraged Empowered Justice Scott free (as in getting away with murder, r@pe, etc.)

And also mild swear words that help me keep my blog PG-13:

Jerk (in place of @sshole) Tail or booty (in place of @ss) Piece of tail (instead of piece of @ss) Boink, Bang, Screw, (instead of f*ck) Frick (instead of f*ck) Freaking (instead of f*cking) Bloody freaking miracle (instead of f*cking miracle) Hell Sweet lies from Hell Fresh lies from hell (or fresh hell)

Oh, and of course — last but not least —

Douchebag! LOL

Nice! I’ll have to add some of these.

sweet lies from hell is my new “scam” phrase…. thx

I use your headline hacks PDF all the time. In fact, I have officially made it is mandatory reading for all new members of my team. Even if they never write a headline, I think it’s super-important for them to learn good copy-writing skills and Headline Hacks is our go-to resource. Now the lists in these posts are the perfect supplement to help me and my team take our copy-writing to the next level. Awesome!

Thanks so much for continuing to create such great resources. All the best!

Headlines as mandatory reading? Hot damn. I want to come work at your company. 🙂

I think you need a list of words that evoke an image or feeling like “Gobsmacked.”

Best word ever!

impressive top of my list. thx

Thanks Jon. I do know that the power words can make a big difference. Thanks for the list. Now have it printed and good to go with more of your great help from you. Debbie

Hi Debbie, definitely some super-powerful power words in your blog title! :-]]

Glad my parents, in what I presume was a back-to-the-future move ahead of its time, got hold of your advice just in time for me … lol

Thanks Beat,

I can’t take all the credit for it though. The truth is Jon pretty much came up with that one, with his blogging class I took. It sure is paying off for me.

Actually i just got an email from someone that wants to advertise on my site.

What can i say, Jon is good with the words. Thanks again and hope you have a great day or evening.

Debbie, you have definitely utilized Jon’s lessons well! Your headings are irresistible! I challenge the young and inexperienced to stay away…lol!

Jon, a great post! Tony Robbins also refers to power words. Looking at your list, I see authentic listed under “safe”. I never thought of it that way before. Maybe having worked in the corporate world, authentic seems more audacious to me. Now, I am going to have to change the tagline for my site. 😛

I love the concept of juxtaposition and confluence. Other words I love are those that convey a transitory magical feeling – elusive, evanescent, fleeting.

I am going to have to grab your headline hacks PDF.

Being Authentic is audacious Interacting with someone who is being authentic is safe

These are delightful (would that be a power word?), but I’m curious about one thing: there are a lot of adjectives in this list. Online marketers and copywriters keep saying it’s best to be simple while also being compelling, which means leaving out adjectives when they’re not necessary.

But it seems you’re making the case that they ARE necessary to a degree, right? Otherwise people won’t emotionally be pulled in by what you’re reading.

That’s absolutely true. 😉

Thanks! Glad to see my love of adjectives doesn’t have to be ENTIRELY thrown out the window. 🙂

Hey Jon, I feel like I’m on a radio call in show so I’ll start by saying Long time reader, first time commentor. LOL

AWESOME and I mean AWESOME list! I’ll be using these for sure!

I have a few to add if I may: Transient Disrupt Sabotage Forge Ravenous Maverick Rogue Emphatic Boost Sprint Drudgery Fervor Wrath Spook Awe Moxie Zest Zeal Cachet Schism Doctrine Dogma Zealot

And I seem to be using this one a lot lately: PRAGMATIC

Some great words there. Thanks for sharing!

Your Royal Awesomeness, hi … with breathtaking “Thanks!” for your sensational list.

I’ve been bombarded with devastatingly boring power word lists ever since the last millennium, but Your Royal Awesomeness’s volatile compilation of power words is strikingly different. It’s eye-openingly intelligent.

Re the staggering importance of (power) words. “In the beginning was the word”. Not only is it tantalizingly clear – “what part of ‘in the beginning’ do you not understand?” – it’s also a secret and therefore hypnotic wisdom of every sage and wisdom that ever existed, across all time, space and religions, gracefully discounting the usual few exceptions. Yet, I shamelessly admit [in truth I’m thrilled to admit], it took my genius self a revoltingly long time to a) notice, b) to believe and c) to really believe it … and experience the magic of belief in power words.

Now your evil list will quadruple the experience, no doubt about it. Hence my recession-proof thanks.

But I see Your Gifted Awesomeness by now is getting over-powered or disgustingly bored – likely both.

So let me hurriedly take quick leave … by crookedly adding the only other intelligent list of power words in my trusted hands is from Tony Robbins [Unleash the Giant Within]. He lists words in two columns: “good word” and “great word”. Cannot reproduce it here – whoppingly true – because I only have it as a guaranteed jpg file. But if anyone wants the bonanza of a copy, just holler and make sure it includes your prized email, and a power word or two :-]

Great list. My additions:

Jon, mind-blowing stuff! 🙂

How about “because”? Tony Robbins first gave me insight into the power of this word. Years later, Brian Clark reminded me. Tony Robbins suggested doing a little experiment to see how powerful “because” was …

Go to the front of any line of people waiting for something – have a really good excuse ready for why you need to be served [or whatever] first and add “because” like this … “Do you all mind if I go first because …[enter good excuse] my little girl’s lost her teddy and she thinks he might be in here.” Or ..

Other power words: Please. May I? Thank-you. You’re fired! … possibly not in that order 🙂

Great post Jon, thanks… I’ll be using it with your Headline Hacks report to juice up my headlines.

Tony Robbins has a very effective practice to change emotional states by changing our usual, self-talk vocabulary to one peppered with power words; they’re a potent influence. Fab list.

This is a really great list. I have been working on improving my writing and this should really help. Thank you for posting this

Dear “His Royal Awesomeness”!

What an impressive and powerful list of perfectly categorized word groups! I’m sending you a H-U-G !

I’m another fan of “Headline Hacks” that I originally downloaded in March 2012 — it’s been like a word bible!

Thank you Jon!

Holy Forgotten Bonanza Batman! This article has titillated my limp mind!

Wow, what else can I say that hasn’t already been said? Like all those before me, I copied this into a word doc (including most of the comment lists) for even more reference material! Thank you!

Thanks for not including curse words. They’re like that broken screwdriver you keep in the drawer. It might work, but it will probably just make someone really angry at you for using it.

Also, I like: “carnage”, “rock star”, “inevitable”, “betray”, “putrid”, “rotten”, “rat”, “patriot”, “made in America”, “Draconian” (when I can get away with it), and especially “insanity” (because it can be good or bad depending on context).

Jon, I love your article and your list of power words is incredible. I am sure I will be using it all the time. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. It’s always greatly appreciated!

Let’s face it. Everything we do in life relates to our emotions. What this list of words does is help us to communicate better as writers and capture those emotions from our readers.

I offer my sincere appreciation for this list and will be sure to keep it in a safe place along with sharing this great article.

Wishing everyone a great inspiration filled day,

Hi Jon. Another staggeringly useful post that will help us to rise to victory. Many thanks.

How about: dying awesome unstoppable alone abandoned fighting mother ideals (I wonder where I got those last 3) surrender freedom love waspish inspired struggle soar impressive heady

I can’t see them in your list- but I may have missed them.

This list is almost as useful as Headline Hacks. Magical! Thanks again. Jane

Excellent. I am a great believer in power words and write and rewrite constantly before posting. Thanks for your list.I will add to mine. Great post.

I’m gobsmacked! (Just had to repeat that word.)

Inspired to contribute an ” Old Coots’ Cahoots” annex: addle bamboozle cahoots cockamamie codger coot craw curmudgeon dagnabbit doddering dandy dandified jim-dandy fester foolhardy frank gobbedlygook grog guffah habberdashery hayseed heyday hobnob horsey kerfuffle lolligag rascal rip-roaring ripsnorter shenanigans skidaddle skinflint skullduggery slapdash sloe-eyed small fry soft shoe tippled tomfoolery toodle-do toodles toots whittle whollop whoop-de-do yackety-yack yammer yellow-belly young ‘un youza yuk yellow-bellied sapsucker zounds zowie zzz

I worry about this type of guide as it lacks so much that is fundamental to the craft of good writing, such as pace, tempo and punctuation. “How to become an instantly better writer,” it says, “it’s simple: Use power words.” If it were that simple there wouldn’t be writers of the calibre we celebrate. If painting were a metaphor, it would say: “it’s simple. Use the colour red.” Picasso painted some of his most famous works in muted blue’s and grey. It goes on to cite a speech of Winston Churchill’s where he uses “power words” yet it brushes over the fact that those words were used in the context of war – a subject of power in itself. it also ignores the power of Churchill’s voice – his pace and tempo and the people who were used to imitate him (there is good evidence that his radio speeches were recorded by a voice artist imitating him). I see so many bloggers applying similar rules while ignoring the power of developing their own style and voice. It is the only way to truly stand out because too many bloggers are taking attention grabbing guides like this to heart.

I understand what you’re saying but blogging is an advanced form of communication that is entirely different than traditional styles of writing. Blogging is meant to attract readers and gain attention because of it’s intimate and quick to read format.

What Jon’s post does is it tells you how to be a better blogger, not to be a better “writer” in the traditional writing sense. Go and read any newspaper and then go read their blog. I’m sure you’ll find very quickly that they are merely curating content with the odd piece thrown in and calling it a blog. That’s not blogging. That’s Journalism.

I was surfing a writers website and looked at their guest post submission guidelines. It asked for a degree in communications and posts must be written in AP style. Since when does AP style have to do with blogging?

I think too many people (along with the so called blogging experts)seem to confuse blogging with the writing we were all taught in school. Two completely different things. Jon doesn’t do that. He has a very clear understanding of what a blog is and what traditional writing is. If you want to write a better fiction novel, screenplay, business letter or speech, take a college level writing class. If you want to learn how to blog, learn from guys who live it.

Just my two cents.

Thanks for your reply, Michael.

Writing forms the basis of blogging, as it does journalism, play writing, speech writing and so on. All of these forms employ words, which are crafted by what we all call WRITING, to attract readers or listeners and gain attention. ALL writing, not just blogging.

Even Jon’s headline states: 317 Power Words That’ll Instantly Make You a Better WRITER. Not a blogger. A WRITER.

People may believe blogging needs to be shorter and punchier to retain peoples attention, but a 2000 word long blog can retain peoples attention if it is WRITTEN well.

Using these so called power words does not make you a better writer. The power of a written piece does not come from individual words, it comes from the context the words are written in; how they relate to other words; sentences; paragraphs and the subject they are describing.

Michael, You say: “I think too many people (along with the so called blogging experts)seem to confuse blogging with the writing we were all taught in school.” This is a ridiculous assumption. The fact that bloggers can string sentences together is a direct result of that schooling. Without it, blogging would not exist.

Indeed, Anton Crone. I’m a novelist myself and come from a world where good, contextual, syntactic writing is as important as vocabulary. But vocabulary’s important too! This list may not touch on everything that makes a good writer, but it specializes in one thing. Why not take that college level writing class Michael mentioned if you want the rest of the picture? And I’m sure there are bloggers out there who specialize in other elements…

Hey Jon, I’ve got one more word that should definitely be added to your power list.

Ben Casnocha just did an entire post on the power of the word “yet” and it’s ability to motivate.

(here’s the post he wrote: http://casnocha.com/2013/07/the-power-of-the-word-yet.html )

Pretty convincing, no?

No. It is not a “power word” in the context of the blog piece above. It is made “powerful” by its application in the sentences or phrases mentioned in the piece you reference. It is just a word, otherwise you may as well say “the” is a power word, or any other word for that matter. Looking at the words above, a great number of them require context to give them “power”. For example: gift; mother; silly, belief. Some of them aren’t even words. IRS? For crying out loud. Some are more than one word: Sick and tired; marked down?

Come on, Jon.

I know something that would make me a better writer…

Taking this article as well as some of your other awesome basic writing technique articles, and putting them to practice in a system each time I write!

Why do we fail to do what we know to do, especially when someone helps us out (gives us the answers? DOH…

I am determine to get this right….

Thanks for another great one, Jon!

Thanks very much for this post. I am always looking for descriptive words to flood my readers’ senses. Ok, maybe that was a tad too dramatic, but I think you understand what I mean.

Anyways, here is a list of words that I’ve used recently:

inexplicable flashed twinge precious simmering stewing gorgeous excruciating pristine guarded throaty sneer struck conjoined exude/ooze venom ecstasy barrage tug-of-war monologue blast inched sly ample paranoia-induced haze alienate chide inconspicuous sanctimonious bastard unadulterated

Thanks for the article and thanks to all those that took the time to comment. This has given me some fresh ideas.

ha! a list to be reckoned with. Great resource and a very interesting read. Great work.

Love this, thank you!

I think we should petition Microsoft to add high-lightened power words to synonyms. That way it is easy. Sorry. It is the lazy me.

Jon, I forgot to thank you. This is a lot of hard work and the comments have added more to its value. Thanks for this great work. Cheers.

Wow! Much like your former students, I have been looking for this list for years! Thanks for putting this together and now I will print it out and place it in front of me for reference in all my writing. I have also shared it with our writers so they too can benefit from your Uncensored, Mind-Blowing and Victorious list of power words. Thansk!

Jon, my hat off to you. As a former college teacher of rhetoric a Dale Carnegie instructor and writing coach, I watch people struggle to find the right words to appeal to the right emotion. Your explanations and lists are concrete, and once again, very helpful. Thanks for being there for us.

I am the same blowing my hat off to Jon. He has all the right terms to display his thoughts on emotions and all. Well organized and great post to show. Share for for more of this kind Jon. Thanks

I write about natural health and food, and I often find myself using the same old words when posting my recipes (boooring!!!). Food is very much tied in with emotion, so I am going to try some of these “new” words. Thanks so much!

Great list…I may have overlooked it, but it seems like “Insane” might be a great word…as in “Insane Offer” or “you’d be insane to miss this!” What do you think? Thanks for a terrific boost for boring blog posts!

Just thought I’d pop back in to let you know that everyone I’ve shared this with has given me nothing but Thanks so lets cheers to that and keep on rockin with words! 🙂

Jon, this post and all these words are awesome! What makes them all so rich and intense is the way they connect us to our feelings; the way they bring us to something in our lives that matters.

That is hands-down, one of the BEST, most USEFUL posts I’ve seen. I used your Headline Hacks with great success and this is now going to build upon that vision to post powerful headlines with even more powerful content. Thank you!!!!!

Just found you guys and am loving all the words. Smooches.

This list is great! Seems like it would be some good words to use in sales pages as well. Thank you!

Excellent article Jon .Thanks for sharing these power words.

Reading some of the comments makes me think some of them missed the point. These words are power words because they evoke an immediate, emotional and visceral response. That is their power! One of the most powerful words I know is not itself a power word; it does not itself have the power of the words in your blog, it is instead a word that describes them. The word is NUANCE. Why say ‘red’ when you can evoke a more emotional, visceral response by saying ‘scarlet’? The smell of blood is one thing; the smoky copper scent of blood is entirely another. Those descriptive, nuanced words are words of power. That’s what these words are. Thank you so much for adding to my store!

Favorite FB pic I saw lately: Never underestimate the seductive power of a decent vocabulary!

Great content! The “power word” in the title is what got my attention. I’ll be using this for my next e-book and optin form. Thanks!

Jon I cannot thank you enough for this killer list…and everyone else for adding even more! If I could bookmark this more than once, I would!

Pure magic right here!

This is such a helpful post, really grateful you shared. I like to throw in “potentionally award-winning” now and again.

Love it! Save as > Bookmark

Great post. This is clearly valuable information.

I loved reading this post and all of your comments. They were a real source of inspiration and a great learning opportunity, as English is not my main language. This is a great way for me to expand my vocabulary and cultivate a more distinguished communication style, so thank you everyone.

All of the above.

Thanks Jon.

Incredible post and list, Jon.

Peak/peek as in summit or peaked his curiosity. The latter: Get a Special Peek into Our [goods} before [the masses]…I’ve stashed some more away and will come back and add them. Though another source is Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens.He could come up with some doozies! I’ll look through those as well.

We, as novelists, are taught not to use the $10 word when the $1 one would work (thank you, Hemingway). But, though similar, copywriting has its own rules and you are setting up to become the next Merriam Webster (and Mark Twain) of our time. Love this.

The other day I listened to a class you gave on how to make $2000 per post. In it, you talked about using ‘power words’…so I started making a list of what I assumed would be good power words.

THANK GOODNESS I came across this! Saves a lot of time and these ‘power’ words are way better than the list I had started!

Awesome stuff! Thanks.

Thanks for the list Jon. Your list is quite effective. I bookmarked this page for future use while writing new blog posts. This list of words is quite effective and easy to use. Thanks for sharing this list.

Jon… you are the most generous person, really! Sharing so much to ensure others are also successful. Pretty happy with all the word lists I got from your page and comments. I’m a month-old blogger… so just getting going and finding that yes, I love writing.. but catching the attention of a sophisticated and click-happy current social media audienceI is not about presenting a powerful book.. it’s about sound bytes and seconds of their headspace. I agree with the ‘devil’s advocate commentator” re words are really only powerful in their designated context.. but we still need WORDS! So thanks a bunch. Can’t wait to wordsmith… within the context and get myself and my audience stoked 🙂

I love words!! I could take each one and write and paragraph around it. Thanks for so many incredible ideas. It’s quite an undertaking to come up with something like this. I have used a list of words for choosing life values or inspiring a passion statement but never thought about words in this context before. Thanks to everyone for your contribution as well. Much food for thought (and pen).

As someone who has really struggled with my writing, I have found that a thesaurus is truly my strongest asset. But posts like these are a close second. Some of these are words I know, but I just never think of implementing. I’m glad I have a new resource to look back on now for my next blog post! Thanks!

This is an amazing article! with that list no article will be a dull text! I learned so many new power words. And I think I’ll go an fix my article like right now! Thanks a lot for the list!

what a great resource. I love this list, this is pure gold for me. thanks you sooo much. especially the forbidden fruit list is really awsome and great to know these words. with these lists I´m sure I can improve my marketing and especially marketing for offline. thanks again. this blog is officially bookmarked.

Wow… Here’s what I made for easy additions to the list: http://prntscr.com/2nzt5m (I can share the link for those who want it :)) This was, obviously, just for starters, considering all the contributions in the comments 😀

*speechless*

Yesterday I read a blog post on the Internet about powerful words and the one word I think is not included maybe supposedly not included is “viral”. I think the viral word is also a power word. I don’t want to compete with this article I’m just a beginner to blogging so if I’m wrong do let me know

A brilliant piece of work! May I post a link of this article in my blog? My friends will find it very helpful.

Coooooool ! Going to try this out for my future posts

This is an awesome list here. I have looked at it several times when trying to make a query or hook for a book I am writing and found several words that have worked for me. Although during one query I was writing I found that Vigilante worked for me better than Terrorist. I did not see that in one of the lists and do not know if anyone else has mentioned that one yet. If not there is a new word for you.

One word that never loses its power:

I have a couple to add:

Erotic (lascivious list) Dastardly (fear monger list) Iron clad (make ’em safe list)

And there’s one that I kinda made up “toe curler” as in Stephen King’s novels are so scary and beautifully written that they’re real toe curlers.

Was so glad I stumbled on this post from Jodie Llyewellyn’s post. Will give me food for thought as I write my next blog entry and then next 2000 words on my next books, today. Here are some power words from my writing, yesterday. I used this as an exercise to explore my writing:

bubbled smooth cool underground alert bleary yawning licked high grating chest lifted feisty nuzzled lips soft warm thrumming bones stretched stroked guttoral breaking strip oblivion unforgiving hit suck poison secret

Lots of good ones – i don’t remember seeing ignite incite

Jon – congrats – a cracking post, that I use every week as a reference guide when creating and editing my own. It does what it says on the tin, because it absolutely HAS made me a better writer.

We have to use power words and think powerful, great post bro, keep up the good writing, I’m taking notes.

Just so you know, I liked your blog and printed it but your “Grow Your Bog to Six figures” promo blocks the upper left corner of each page so that the keywords behind it on every page I printed are completely blocked. Pretty frustrating!!

Compelling collection of words on this page! Here are a few that I think evoke a lot of emotion:

Train-Wreck Crushing Invigorating Force Surrounded Collide Unknown Embellish Calamity Absorb Immeasurable Transparent Tremble Vivacious

Thanks Jon, yet another beautiful one.

I have been using these now a few times, but I am struggling with how much I should emulate your style.

German audiences, besides reading a different language, have a bit of a different rhythm.

Also, you tend to hype the living gold out of your articles. Contrary to most other authors, you keep your promises of awesomeness.

But Germans are a little allergic to hype.

The last time Germans believed in hype, in particular political hype, it didn’t go over so well for them and even less for the rest of the world.

Maybe you heard about it.

Anyway, thanks again for making me a better writer and a more conscious promoter. People actually read my posts now.

The secrets of this post can skyrocket anyone’s blog to staggering heights of success. A true gift from a true genius. Thank you.

I completely Agree with some “intriguing” words that you suggest but for some it was too “extreme” so I cant use some of those words to my blog. If I want to straight “extravaganza” and try to attract peoples, I’ll probably will use some harsh words such as N-Word, F-Word, B-Word, FG-Word and many more and I will get some backlash for that.

A million dollar idea – it would be great to have a power word thesauras online.

Here are 120 more power words that I came up with for the Fear Mongering category:

Apprehension

Assassination

Conflagration

Disturbance

Endangerment

Exterminate

Eye-opening

Hallucination

Incapacitated

Infiltration

Provocation

Retaliation

Shenanigans

Treacherous

Trepidation

How about: Speedy Calculating Sensational Petrified Savvy Treated Ultimate Rock Solid 🙂

Great info even if you’re not a PRO writer These are great words that I can use to get my prospects motivated to call or click on my website. Thanks, John

This was a very helpful article. Definitely going to be referring back to it. Thank you so much!

This will be very helpful! I’m going to print out these lists out and stick them up on the wall of my office! Thank you!!! 🙂

Great post! Thank you for making the list so detailed and organized, and sharing it for free. I’ll definitely add many of these to my posts and make them a permanent part of my vocabulary. We all know these words, but we often try to think of new, modern, complex ones that we think will grab attention. Eventually, we realize that simplicity is the solution to everything. The simpler, the better.

Awesome! Thank you for this! Where can I get a copy to have with me at all times?

Great piece here, and what’s more: followed by great comments. Thanks to all. My humble contribution primarily but not exclusively for political speeches : – Loyal(ty) – Patriot – Country – Future – (our) Children – Safe(ty) – Promise/pledge – (our) Duty – any term linked to physical exercise: run, rush, lift, push…

Hi Jon, Great list, great post! More ideas for your list of 1000 power words when you create it: flee, fan, flame, charge, fury, free (not in the no-cost sense, but in freeing a prisoner), glory, glorify, exuberance, guffaw, volcanic, hassle, harried, hair-tearing, genius, generous, humble, zen-like, ravenous, raging, riotous

Thanks for posting so much great content – and often!

Great List. I have now bookmarked it so that I can keep referring back to it when writing certain blog posts and articles. Thank you.

Great topic. Love the article would consider implementing soon.

thanks, these are seriously awesome words

Thank you! I’m struggling to improve my boring headlines. I appreciate the list being very long.

Good words … but they’re effective only when they’re wrapped around something that’s meaningful to your audience. The word “badass” has become so overused it now seems forced; I avoid reading anything with “badass” in the title. Love the examples from Henneke and Sarah Peterson — their personalities shine through. The words they use fit their brand.

Excellent knowledge pack article … strange only 595 words make me better writer i am really very excited and going to use this soon.

Jon, this post and all these words are awesome! What makes them all so rich and intense is the way they connect us to our feelings; the way they bring us to something in our lives that matters

Great piece of content. I’m a beginner and the list of power words was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks a ton Jon.

Learned a lot from your thoughts. Your content always inspires me.Thank You for your powerful words.

Wow, this is an awesome list of words collection.

Learned a lot from your thoughts, your content is precious, easy to read and understand, Thanks for sharing.

Hi! very nice article , I am a digital marketer in a company and i need to enhance my knowledge and skills in writing and absolutely your post has very informative content, so thank you very much for sharing this post.

On the internet we can find lots of information but in the whole thing existence of the reality is very few, so this site i found which is really helped me a lot. thank you so much for sharing nice thing.

Not only is this a valuable list, but this post is a case study in how to write a great blog post.

The information you have published in your blog is really useful and I will apply this useful information to the seo studies of my own website and blog page. It’s a pleasure to take advantage of this useful information on your blog page. Thank you.

You have such a gift for practicing what you preach. Seriously, this is high value for me, and I can implement immediately. Thanks for pouring the work into making this great.

A big thanks for you

Great article, I would really thankful for share the article from the digital marketing point of view.

Thanks for sharing this article. Great post! Thank you for making the list so detailed and organized, and sharing it for free. I’ll definitely add many of these to my posts and make them a permanent part of my vocabulary. I’ll teach this strategy to my Digital Marketing students so that they can write content easefully.

Great article, I would love to use it in my writing.

Hi, Great post. Thanks for sharing. Keep up the good work. Really informational. Keep posting. Cheers – Jatin

Some really interesting details you have written.Aided me a lot, just what I was looking for

Good work bro and I love your all articles and love to read them.

Sir amazing work by you. loved to read this article . I am also a blogger and its a veryhelpful for a blogger like me.

This is literally the best. Thank you for taking the time to write this! I can already see the value in this article and I have shared it with my staff.

Okay. Why am I just finding you again? This is a great resource. I’ve always noticed catchy headlines and phrases, but never really observed their power points, now you have drawn my attention to those. Thanks. You are a good writer, and this resource you provided will make many more better writers as well.????

Do you think these will be effective in paid ad copies as well? How do “Now” impacts? Every other ad copy uses it!

Very helpful information Thanks, Jon Morrow for sharing with us

Awesome list Jon, this will help me to create compelling post titles. Thanks a lot for sharing. I always keep watching and reading every post of Smart Blogger and I must say you’re doing a damn good job by helping out the digital community here.

Words can be as powerful as actions if they come from the right mouth… My job demands constant writing and editing. I strive to write only high-quality content with no fluff included. Sometimes it bothers me that I have used so many popular expressions and words and I reach the writer’s block. Mr. Morrow, I would like to personally express my gratitude for the job you have made with this blog post. It can really fire up my next projects!

Language is a communication medium, the words used do the trick. The more apt the word selected, the purpose served better.Kudos to your ingenuity and benevolence. Jon ,you are a Bruce Lee to English language as is he to marital arts.

Hey Jon !! i just started my career in writing field. my problem is i know what i want to write but when i starts writing i just cant express my feeling into words , but when i saw your post , i got more confident to write but not enough , so could you please suggest me some ideas ?

I just saw this in my email now, opened, read and it was filled with awesomeness ???? I must confess!

I’ve been messing around with words on my blog – trying to sound too seriously lol.

But this just gave me a brand new perspective on how to write better and crank out compelling copies.

Thanks so much Jon!

I have just started to write a blog and recently I just have read your blog and it is helpfully for me to how to write a blog which word should we used to get more audience and how to connect with the audience.

`Believe me when I say this has been the best read for me as a professional writer. It has a considerable part to play in my transition from a content writer to a copywriter. Thanks for the list, Jon.

Hi, good to see you here for power that words your article to see you here. Thanks a lot for sharing with us.

Wow, I really do hear these power words subconsciously but have never really thought of using them. I’ll give it a try. Thanks for sharing this article.

What a great list of powerful words, thank you Jon for this very insightful post. And I thought ‘successfully’ is included but didn’t see anywhere 🙂

Very helpful. I will apply these tips for my new blog. thanks for taking your time to come up with this awesome content

Having these power words can influence your thinking in powerful ways. Superb!

Wow, that is some list you have built there and to be honest, I have not been utilizing power words at all within the articles i have been writing at all. Do the length of an article not throw people off? I am assuming through use of power words, people would feel or be more engaged and as such, would not bounce, what are your thoughts on this?

Wow. What a list with power words 🙂

This is a very good post. Very well done, Jon!

I totally agree that most of us don’t use these kind of powerful words at all. The outcome for me is first of all about strengthening my glossary.

Thanks a lot!

I’ve just started blogging and I’m really trying to learn how to write the content to get the best value. Articles like this area really useful to me so thanks a lot.

Hey Jon, you nailed it brother. What an article!! I really enjoyed a lot. Now understood why some sales copy make millions and why some fails. Power words are really transforming words. Thanks a lot, Jon.

There are 3 power words that I love to use when describing myself, as it boosts my profile before I state what I do for a living (marketing consultant). Those 3 words are: “world-renowned”, “highly-acclaimed”, and “world-class”. Great article on power words.

Thanks for the list, Jon. It definitely gives me some food for thought… but I will tell you that after glancing through the list, it seems like a lot of the words are negative.

I totally agree with that words are the most powerful tool humans have developed and they definitively make a big difference in someone life.

Great post, very insightful and highly useful. Regarding power words, I totally agree they’re very powerful and make a huge difference. However, what ate your thoughts of including power words in the SEO title of your post? The common perception (mine also) is that they will increase CTR when a person sees your article in the search results. However, some big SEO guys are saying that including power words in the SEO title will actually cause a lower CTR, which doesn’t really make sense to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Many thanks!

Best, Steve

Thanks for the great post! I have noted down many of them and will definitely use them in my writings. Also, I love the comments below that contributed to the power words list!

Hello John,

Fantabulous post. Power words have a great impact on CTR. Personally, I have tried different power words on my SERP title. Without a doubt, I would say they increase CTR to 200%. Keep posting more!

Your Royal Awesomeness,

I’m not quite sure whether you’re still secretly reading comments on your posts or whether now you only focus on CEO-bossing your team 😉

In any case, I just wanted to express my deepest, groupie-like (without the sex, though) admiration for your work.

Your personal, emotion-infused style succeeded to defibrillate me and inspire me. Like Jack Nicholson said in As Good As It Gets, “you make me want to be a better man”.

In his article THE BRAIN-DEAD SIMPLE BUT ASTONISHINGLY EFFECTIVE WAY TO BECOME A BETTER WRITER, Greg Digneo describes how you hand-copied for months Stephen King’s “On Writing” in order to chisel out your style (any other books or articles, too?).

I plan to hand-copy articles from you, Brian Clark and Henneke Duistermaat. Though each of you has a completely unique voice, you have in common that passionate style filled with sensory words that few other authors master.

If you might have any other suggestion on how to learn sensory writing and an emotion-packed style, please let me know.

In any case, I’ll come back here to continue worshipping (and hand-copy) your posts 🙂

Thank you so much, John, for the power words. I have downloaded the list for further reference.

Have you used Coschedule’s Headline Analyzer? What is the highest score you have received?

I am going to use these power keywords and test my headlines to get the best score. Could you share with me some insights to get the best score?

Cheers, Nirmal Kumar

Thank You John for putting this together. I am going to implement this, I am sure it will improve the click through rate and conversion.

I find this post so fascinating. I mean I read it and I think, you are so right! I wish I could write more powerfully! It all makes sense but I feel like it is something you just have to have a gut instinct for. So much trouble to try figure out what words to use and infuse them into your writing otherwise. Or maybe that makes me sound lazy! I suppose practice would make it come more naturally.

At least we now know for certain that affiliate marketing, blogging, creative content marketing and side hustles online are here to stay. One thing I can say for sure is thought freelancing online with blogging and affiliate marketing has no financial guarantees, it’s surely more stable than going to a cushy day job. 🙂

WOW! What a list. I have this page bookmarked for future reference to help me with my blog posts. Love it!

I really appreciate that you shared a very informative list of power words. I am checking your blog too and find very informative. I would love to connect you on linkedin and twitter.

thanks, adesh from India

Pretty amazing that this was written in 2013 and I still come back to this on a frequent basis. Incredible job!

It’s an awesome article. I will definitely implement these techniques in my blogs. Thanks Jon

Hi Jon, Knowing about the powerful words, I believe it will help for sure. Thanks for sharing the great post. will be sharing it with my friends as well.

Nice post! Thanks for all the power word suggestions. Will keep them at my fingertips

Hi jon, this is a great list of power words. I’m definitely going to use them in my blog posts.

I enrolled for the writing machine course and side by side reading these articles. Awesome work Jon. I highly admire your creativity and way of conveying the message across.

It was a great share! I am a writer too, and I am always looking to improve and leave a mark with my writing. I think adding these words will definitely make a difference. I write all of my blog posts, headlines, and captions myself, and at times I feel short of good words. I will definitely bookmark these words and try to use them in my posts. Thanks a lot for sharing this article, as a writer I acn tell you it was a great read and will be very helpful in my process.

Amazing, amazing, amazing! Actually, this article is so much helpful for using power words in different fields like your title, domain and business name, etc. In fact, it will work. Thanks, John, for making such a great article and giving it a deep time.

It is very common to forget things that is the same thing happened to me. I forgot the use of power words. I need to bookmark this page because it is too much to digest in one go. I will be back on this post every time before posting a new content. Thanks! I appreciate your efforts!

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• 40 Useful Words and Phrases for Top-Notch Essays

To be truly brilliant, an essay needs to utilise the right language. You could make a great point, but if it’s not intelligently articulated, you almost needn’t have bothered.

Developing the language skills to build an argument and to write persuasively is crucial if you’re to write outstanding essays every time. In this article, we’re going to equip you with the words and phrases you need to write a top-notch essay, along with examples of how to utilise them.

It’s by no means an exhaustive list, and there will often be other ways of using the words and phrases we describe that we won’t have room to include, but there should be more than enough below to help you make an instant improvement to your essay-writing skills.

If you’re interested in developing your language and persuasive skills, Oxford Royale offers summer courses at its Oxford Summer School , Cambridge Summer School , London Summer School , San Francisco Summer School and Yale Summer School . You can study courses to learn english , prepare for careers in law , medicine , business , engineering and leadership.

General explaining

Let’s start by looking at language for general explanations of complex points.

1. In order to

Usage: “In order to” can be used to introduce an explanation for the purpose of an argument. Example: “In order to understand X, we need first to understand Y.”

2. In other words

Usage: Use “in other words” when you want to express something in a different way (more simply), to make it easier to understand, or to emphasise or expand on a point. Example: “Frogs are amphibians. In other words, they live on the land and in the water.”

3. To put it another way

Usage: This phrase is another way of saying “in other words”, and can be used in particularly complex points, when you feel that an alternative way of wording a problem may help the reader achieve a better understanding of its significance. Example: “Plants rely on photosynthesis. To put it another way, they will die without the sun.”

4. That is to say

Usage: “That is” and “that is to say” can be used to add further detail to your explanation, or to be more precise. Example: “Whales are mammals. That is to say, they must breathe air.”

5. To that end

Usage: Use “to that end” or “to this end” in a similar way to “in order to” or “so”. Example: “Zoologists have long sought to understand how animals communicate with each other. To that end, a new study has been launched that looks at elephant sounds and their possible meanings.”

Adding additional information to support a point

Students often make the mistake of using synonyms of “and” each time they want to add further information in support of a point they’re making, or to build an argument. Here are some cleverer ways of doing this.

6. Moreover

Usage: Employ “moreover” at the start of a sentence to add extra information in support of a point you’re making. Example: “Moreover, the results of a recent piece of research provide compelling evidence in support of…”

7. Furthermore

Usage:This is also generally used at the start of a sentence, to add extra information. Example: “Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that…”

8. What’s more

Usage: This is used in the same way as “moreover” and “furthermore”. Example: “What’s more, this isn’t the only evidence that supports this hypothesis.”

9. Likewise

Usage: Use “likewise” when you want to talk about something that agrees with what you’ve just mentioned. Example: “Scholar A believes X. Likewise, Scholar B argues compellingly in favour of this point of view.”

10. Similarly

Usage: Use “similarly” in the same way as “likewise”. Example: “Audiences at the time reacted with shock to Beethoven’s new work, because it was very different to what they were used to. Similarly, we have a tendency to react with surprise to the unfamiliar.”

11. Another key thing to remember

Usage: Use the phrase “another key point to remember” or “another key fact to remember” to introduce additional facts without using the word “also”. Example: “As a Romantic, Blake was a proponent of a closer relationship between humans and nature. Another key point to remember is that Blake was writing during the Industrial Revolution, which had a major impact on the world around him.”

12. As well as

Usage: Use “as well as” instead of “also” or “and”. Example: “Scholar A argued that this was due to X, as well as Y.”

13. Not only… but also

Usage: This wording is used to add an extra piece of information, often something that’s in some way more surprising or unexpected than the first piece of information. Example: “Not only did Edmund Hillary have the honour of being the first to reach the summit of Everest, but he was also appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.”

14. Coupled with

Usage: Used when considering two or more arguments at a time. Example: “Coupled with the literary evidence, the statistics paint a compelling view of…”

15. Firstly, secondly, thirdly…

Usage: This can be used to structure an argument, presenting facts clearly one after the other. Example: “There are many points in support of this view. Firstly, X. Secondly, Y. And thirdly, Z.

16. Not to mention/to say nothing of

Usage: “Not to mention” and “to say nothing of” can be used to add extra information with a bit of emphasis. Example: “The war caused unprecedented suffering to millions of people, not to mention its impact on the country’s economy.”

Words and phrases for demonstrating contrast

When you’re developing an argument, you will often need to present contrasting or opposing opinions or evidence – “it could show this, but it could also show this”, or “X says this, but Y disagrees”. This section covers words you can use instead of the “but” in these examples, to make your writing sound more intelligent and interesting.

17. However

Usage: Use “however” to introduce a point that disagrees with what you’ve just said. Example: “Scholar A thinks this. However, Scholar B reached a different conclusion.”

18. On the other hand

Usage: Usage of this phrase includes introducing a contrasting interpretation of the same piece of evidence, a different piece of evidence that suggests something else, or an opposing opinion. Example: “The historical evidence appears to suggest a clear-cut situation. On the other hand, the archaeological evidence presents a somewhat less straightforward picture of what happened that day.”

19. Having said that

Usage: Used in a similar manner to “on the other hand” or “but”. Example: “The historians are unanimous in telling us X, an agreement that suggests that this version of events must be an accurate account. Having said that, the archaeology tells a different story.”

20. By contrast/in comparison

Usage: Use “by contrast” or “in comparison” when you’re comparing and contrasting pieces of evidence. Example: “Scholar A’s opinion, then, is based on insufficient evidence. By contrast, Scholar B’s opinion seems more plausible.”

21. Then again

Usage: Use this to cast doubt on an assertion. Example: “Writer A asserts that this was the reason for what happened. Then again, it’s possible that he was being paid to say this.”

22. That said

Usage: This is used in the same way as “then again”. Example: “The evidence ostensibly appears to point to this conclusion. That said, much of the evidence is unreliable at best.”

Usage: Use this when you want to introduce a contrasting idea. Example: “Much of scholarship has focused on this evidence. Yet not everyone agrees that this is the most important aspect of the situation.”

Adding a proviso or acknowledging reservations

Sometimes, you may need to acknowledge a shortfalling in a piece of evidence, or add a proviso. Here are some ways of doing so.

24. Despite this

Usage: Use “despite this” or “in spite of this” when you want to outline a point that stands regardless of a shortfalling in the evidence. Example: “The sample size was small, but the results were important despite this.”

25. With this in mind

Usage: Use this when you want your reader to consider a point in the knowledge of something else. Example: “We’ve seen that the methods used in the 19th century study did not always live up to the rigorous standards expected in scientific research today, which makes it difficult to draw definite conclusions. With this in mind, let’s look at a more recent study to see how the results compare.”

26. Provided that

Usage: This means “on condition that”. You can also say “providing that” or just “providing” to mean the same thing. Example: “We may use this as evidence to support our argument, provided that we bear in mind the limitations of the methods used to obtain it.”

27. In view of/in light of

Usage: These phrases are used when something has shed light on something else. Example: “In light of the evidence from the 2013 study, we have a better understanding of…”

28. Nonetheless

Usage: This is similar to “despite this”. Example: “The study had its limitations, but it was nonetheless groundbreaking for its day.”

29. Nevertheless

Usage: This is the same as “nonetheless”. Example: “The study was flawed, but it was important nevertheless.”

30. Notwithstanding

Usage: This is another way of saying “nonetheless”. Example: “Notwithstanding the limitations of the methodology used, it was an important study in the development of how we view the workings of the human mind.”

Giving examples

Good essays always back up points with examples, but it’s going to get boring if you use the expression “for example” every time. Here are a couple of other ways of saying the same thing.

31. For instance

Example: “Some birds migrate to avoid harsher winter climates. Swallows, for instance, leave the UK in early winter and fly south…”

32. To give an illustration

Example: “To give an illustration of what I mean, let’s look at the case of…”

Signifying importance

When you want to demonstrate that a point is particularly important, there are several ways of highlighting it as such.

33. Significantly

Usage: Used to introduce a point that is loaded with meaning that might not be immediately apparent. Example: “Significantly, Tacitus omits to tell us the kind of gossip prevalent in Suetonius’ accounts of the same period.”

34. Notably

Usage: This can be used to mean “significantly” (as above), and it can also be used interchangeably with “in particular” (the example below demonstrates the first of these ways of using it). Example: “Actual figures are notably absent from Scholar A’s analysis.”

35. Importantly

Usage: Use “importantly” interchangeably with “significantly”. Example: “Importantly, Scholar A was being employed by X when he wrote this work, and was presumably therefore under pressure to portray the situation more favourably than he perhaps might otherwise have done.”

Summarising

You’ve almost made it to the end of the essay, but your work isn’t over yet. You need to end by wrapping up everything you’ve talked about, showing that you’ve considered the arguments on both sides and reached the most likely conclusion. Here are some words and phrases to help you.

36. In conclusion

Usage: Typically used to introduce the concluding paragraph or sentence of an essay, summarising what you’ve discussed in a broad overview. Example: “In conclusion, the evidence points almost exclusively to Argument A.”

37. Above all

Usage: Used to signify what you believe to be the most significant point, and the main takeaway from the essay. Example: “Above all, it seems pertinent to remember that…”

38. Persuasive

Usage: This is a useful word to use when summarising which argument you find most convincing. Example: “Scholar A’s point – that Constanze Mozart was motivated by financial gain – seems to me to be the most persuasive argument for her actions following Mozart’s death.”

39. Compelling

Usage: Use in the same way as “persuasive” above. Example: “The most compelling argument is presented by Scholar A.”

40. All things considered

Usage: This means “taking everything into account”. Example: “All things considered, it seems reasonable to assume that…”

How many of these words and phrases will you get into your next essay? And are any of your favourite essay terms missing from our list? Let us know in the comments below, or get in touch here to find out more about courses that can help you with your essays.

At Oxford Royale Academy, we offer a number of  summer school courses for young people who are keen to improve their essay writing skills. Click here to apply for one of our courses today, including law , business , medicine  and engineering .

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Powerful words and Phrases to use in Essays

Although many might consider essay writing an easy task, it is not always the case with most students. Writing academic papers (essays, term papers, research papers, dissertations, theses, proposals, reports, and other assignments) requires students to hone and practice continuously. Thus, mastering writing at the academic level takes time and much practice, after which most students begin to be confident writing essays. For some, this confidence comes towards the end of the undergraduate course, while some master the art a few months or a week into their undergrad level studies.

This might sound like you, and you do not have to feel sorry about it. We have a list of academic writing power words that you can use when writing academic assignments. These words and phrases to use in your essay and other papers will help you avoid the dead words that probably deny you the top grade. Together with our team of experts in best essay writing, we have listed essential academic words that you can use in your introduction, body, and conclusion for all your essays and research papers .

Although you might have arguments and ideas that might attract the best grade, using the words we have listed could help you articulate, expound, and present the ideas effectively. Consequently, you will end up with a standard academic paper that any professional can grade, or that attracts your reader's attention and keeps them glued to the end.

After all, academic writing is a formal practice that disdains cliches or dead words such as colloquial expressions, controversial phrases, or casual words/slang. This means that the words you use when texting your friends, such as LOL, OMG, TIA, and the rest, should only end in the messages and not on the PDF or Word document you are typing your essay. As we have mentioned, formal academic writing is very delicate; it requires in-depth skills.

We hope that as you plan, write, and polish your essay, you will consider using the words we have listed here for inspiration and to hone your professional writing skills.

Words to Spice up your Introduction

Crafting a perfect introduction is arguably the most challenging part of academic writing. Whether you write the introduction first or last, it is always the invitation point for your readers to enjoy what is in the body. So, naturally, with adequate planning and structuring, you need to ensure that the introduction counts.

To begin an essay, you need to mind that your reader is uninformed about your arguments and topic, which means that the very first sentence has to summarize the central argument and the topic.

Although there is no preserved set of words to use in your essay introduction, you use the following words and phrases to explain what your essay is discussing (its scope) without losing the formality of your academic writing.

• For decades
• Over the years
• Challenging
• Significance
• Complex problem
• To begin with
• As far as is proven in the literature
• From the statistics presented by studies
• The main objective
• This topic resonates

This list of phrases is not complete; you can use the other phrases and words we will cover in the following sections of this guide. As long as you have a good reason to use a phrase, do not feel limited : use it for the glory of excellent grades.

General Explanations

When providing general explanations, both in the body, introduction, and conclusion of your essays, either for complex or easy points, you can use these phrases:

• In order to
• In other words
• To that end
• In another way
• That is to say

We will see (in the course of this guideline) how else you can use the exact phrases in your essay.

Giving Examples in your essay

Any standard piece of academic writing must include examples. For instance, when presenting an argument in an argumentative or persuasive essay, you must illustrate your essay with examples to make the arguments stand out. Examples help clarify explanations, which makes it easy for the reader to connect the dots. Besides, they create an ideal picture in the mind of the reader. Instead of repeating for example when introducing illustrations in your essay, here are other phrases, transitions, and words that you can use in their place.

• To illustrate
• As evidence
• To elucidate
• To exemplify
• On this occasion
• As in the case of
• Take the case of
• In this sense
• In this situation
• In another case
• In this case
• As a demonstration
• As a testament
• To demonstrate
• As an example,
• For instance
• For example
• To give an illustration

Academic essays that receive top scores always have well-kit paragraphs that entail the topic sentence, arguments, examples (illustration), and closing sentences with the relevant transition words. These academic phrases are helpful when introducing examples. You can ideally use them in any academic piece, including theses, proposals, and dissertations. They help you avoid repeating similar phrases, which facilities readability and smooth flow in your essays.

Showing importance of arguments in an essay

When writing academic essays, it is vital to demonstrate that a given argument or point is fundamental. You can highlight this in your essay writing by using the following phrases:

• In particular
• Specifically
• Importantly
• Significantly
• Fundamentally

These words can comfortably be used interchangeably when demonstrating significant ideas that are critical to understanding a topic.

Arguing based on facts from other authors

You can use phrases that acknowledge what others have said concerning a topic at the beginning of your essay. When you begin your essay with such phrases, you are posing your argument based on the authors' findings or a general interest/concern in your area of research. You can use such phrases when the evidence supports or refutes your arguments. Here are the essay phrases to use when acknowledging authors:

• Considering
• In light of
• Taking into consideration
• On account of
• All things considered
• On the whole
• Insomuch as
• Inasmuch as
• Forasmuch as

Introducing the views of an author who is an authority in your area of interest or topic is critical in academic essay writing. For example, when you include a quote but do not want to use parenthetical citation or the exact words, you can use academic phrases such as:

• According to X
• X contends that
• Referring to the views of
• Drawing from X
• As argued by Y
• Findings by Y
• As hypothesized by X
• As proposed/shown/demonstrated/suggested by X
• Studies by X
• A recent study by X

Although you are referencing a quote here, it is not always advisable to use direct quotes at the start of your essay unless directed by your instructor. This means that using the above phrases can help spice up your essay introduction.

Laying Emphasis

When writing an essay, whether it be an English class essay or any essay, you must emphasize the main argument. The idea behind this is to create coherence within your essay. You can use the transition words below to emphasize your paragraphs. This list of academic essay words can be used in the introduction, body, and even conclusion.

• In any case
• Some other words include unquestionably, without a doubt, certainly, undeniably, without reservation, naturally, surprisingly, always, forever, perennially, eternally, never, emphatically,

Showing some sequence

When describing ideas or presenting arguments in sequence within an essay, here are the proven phrases and words that can earn you the best grades in school.

• First, second, third
• First, secondly, thirdly
• Following this
• At this point
• Before this
• Consequently
• Subsequently
• At this time

It would help if you were extra careful when introducing ideas because each paragraph only has one idea. They are also ideal when giving a list of examples.

You can also show the order of events using the phrases below:

• Furthermore
• In the meantime
• Simultaneously
• In the first place
• First of all
• For the time being
• With this in mind

These phrases come in handy when writing about a linear event or a sequential occurrence of facts. They further help to maintain a good flow, clarity, and coherence.

Creating Flow and providing further information

Essays, even the short ones, should be as informative as possible. Knowing how to present arguments, points, and facts concisely and helps you avoid bluff in the essay. As the flow of your essay matters to the reader and for your grades, we recommend that you use these phrases or words that denote more information or flow. These words will help you to chronologically and structurally present your arguments and ideas

• In addition
• What's more
• Additionally

These are academic phrases that help you expand your argument; add a point you have made without interrupting the flow of your essay. You can also use them when beginning new paragraphs.

The next set of essay words are a great choice when you want to add a piece of information that corroborates the argument or point you just mentioned. When writing academic essays and papers, it is critical to concur with your arguments. Doing so not only helps you to keep your readers glued but also helps you to contextualize your research.  They also help you avoid repeating also many times. Repetitions are a sure way to score poor grades in your essay : they make your writing predictive and boring. Here are some words to save you grades and embracement.

• Another key thing to remember
• Not only but also ( use this when establishing similarity in your arguments- it makes the argument stand out)
• Coupled with
• Firstly, secondly, thirdly

You can also use the essay phrases below when stating your claim or introducing your claim. When your essay requires you to prove how you will achieve a goal- as is with a problem-solution essay or proposal argument essay , you can use these sentences to expand your points.

• To this end

You can also use the academic phrases below to improve continuity in your essay write-up. These essay phrases explain a point that you already made but differently. Avoid repetition when elaborating specific points or arguments in your essay by using the phrases below

• To put it in another way
• To put it more simply

The phrases above can also be used when rounding up a point that came before the sentence that you begin.

An Example: He was already abusive to both the mother and the kids. In other words, it was a long-term domestic violence case.

Comparing and Contrasting Points

In academic essays, there are instances when you are required to include information that proves or refutes a point. For instance, when writing an argumentative essay, you have to include a counterargument. To show the views of the researchers that disagree with your main argument or point of view, you can use these words to introduce alternative arguments:

• Nevertheless
• On the contrary
• On the other hand
• Even though

These phrases are a seamless way to include an alternative perspective.

An Example: While 35% of the population appears to be living below the poverty line, the remaining 65% seem to be doing well.

You can also use phrases that show contrast, present uncertainty, and compare facts associated with your significant arguments. Here are some of the phrases:

• By contrast
• In comparison

The phrases above demonstrate expertise in your topic, authority in writing and help you convince your readers.

When you intend to demonstrate a positive aspect of your subject matter, you can use these phrases in your academic piece:

• Despite this
• Provided that
• Nonetheless

Example : Provided that there is a red flag in a relationship, it is only safe that the victim acts or seeks help.

To add contrast, you can also highlight the relevance of an opinion, argument, point, or fact as regards your research. Here are some academic words that can help you introduce paragraphs or sentences that have big ideas in your essay:

• Another key point

Perfect words to conclude your essay

An essay conclusion carries as much weight as the introduction. Therefore, you must ensure that you have concluding words for your essay good enough to wrap up your arguments. In addition, considering that your conclusion should have a summary of the main ideas, your final statement and road plan to the conclusion must be evident. Here is a list of categorized phrases to use to conclude an essay effectively:

• In conclusion
• To summarize
• In the final analysis
• On close analysis
• As can be seen from the argument above
• The most compelling finding
• The outstanding idea
• The most persuasive point
• This suggests that
• It can be seen that
• The consequence is
• Subsequent to
• Most significantly
• It should be noted
• It is worth noting

These are essay phrases that you use when articulating your reasons in the essay. Some of them summarize the relevant ideas or arguments, while others emphasize the relevant arguments.

Parting Shot

We have explored the list of useful phrases for writing great essays. When coupled with the correct vocabulary words, an essay easily scores the top grade in a rubric. When you use the words above, you automatically sound smart.

Whether you are writing a narrative, argumentative, or descriptive essay, these are words that you can use to convince your readers. They help you maintain a good flow, play around with other vocabularies, present authors' views, and finalize your essay in a bang.

We hope that these words will transform your essays from better to best. So, stay confident while articulating points, arguments, and ideas in your essays.

If writing an essay is not your thing, and these academic words and phrases sound Greek to you, you can hire an essay writer. Sourcing essay writing help from Gradecrest guarantees you a sample academic essay that is well-formatted. In addition, we have writers who specialize in writing different essays and can deliver within the shortest turnaround time.

Gradecrest is a professional writing service that provides original model papers. We offer personalized services along with research materials for assistance purposes only. All the materials from our website should be used with proper references. See our Terms of Use Page for proper details.

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70+ Connective Words To Power Up Your Essays [COMPREHENSIVE LIST]

by Kerri-Anne Edinburgh | Last updated Jul 23, 2024 | First published on Aug 5, 2021 | 1 comment

When you’re writing an essay or assignment, you need to use every trick in the book to maximise your marks. And one of the best tools for radically improving your writing is the power of connective words .

Used correctly, connective words can give your writing new depth and meaning, improve readability (important for your examiner!) and demonstrate the logic of your arguments.

Luckily for you, we’ve got plenty of categories, definitions and connectives examples to help you get started…

Psst – this article uses loads of connectives. See if you can spot them in use: we’ve italicised the best examples!

What are connective words?

Simply put, connectives are words – or phrases – that link parts of your writing together.

You’re probably familiar with the most common connective words: and, as, because, but, if, or, so . In fact, I’ve used a few of them already – did you spot them?

Don’t limit your essay writing to the basics though, because there are hundreds of connectives that can help you to demonstrate different ideas, such as cause and effect , or the chronology of events .

We’re going to explore ten types of connectives below, but first , here’s a quick refresher on the grammar behind connective words:  

Definitions: The grammatical bit

Understanding the grammar behind your writing might not be your thing – but bear with me, because remembering these six definitions will help you know which connective to use when, and where to place them!

(If you’re just looking for examples of connectives, feel free to skip straight past this bit!)

Connectives fall into three grammatical categories: conjunctions, prepositions, and adverbs.

• For example: and, but, for, or, yet .
• Today , I finished my history assignment but forgot to workout .
• Such as: at, in, of, on, under .
• I need to finish the conclusion of my essay before I go to dinner.
• For instance: upwards, quickly, fortunately .
• My deadline is tomorrow. Fortunately , I proofread my thesis chapter already .

Using adverb and preposition connective words adds specific meaning – and thus clarity – to your writing. They are particularly useful for successful essay signposting .

Definitions part 2: Connectives in sentences

When using connectives, it’s also important to remember that not all sentences are created equal in importance . And so , when connecting them into longer sentences, different types of connectives create different results:

• For example: I find French tricky but I love learning Spanish.

On the other hand,

• A subordinate clause relies on the main clause to make sense. Therefore, these connectives give information about the relationship between the clauses by specifying an order or place to events, or a cause and effect link.
• Here’s an example: I need to do my homework if I want to get a good grade .

A useful type of subordinating connective for essay writing is the:

• For instance: Firstly , I carried out the experiment, and secondly , I analysed the results.

And that’s your grammar refresh done!

If you’re struggling with essay-writing grammar, a great tool for checking your writing is Grammarly – we use it at Exam Study Expert because it catches a broad range of mistakes.

The where, what and how of using connectives

So how do you go about using connectives?

In this section, we’re going to discuss the where, what and how …

Where to add connectives:

As we’ve seen , connective words are often found in the middle of a sentence, joining two clauses. But don’t forget you can also use them at the beginning of a sentence to link two consecutive sentences – OR two ideas within your paragraphs (did you see what I did there?).

Some of your connectives will even be linking entire paragraphs and sections – these are often examples of signposting to guide the reader through your section or argument.

What’s more , many connectives are not just single words but phrases. These connectives are particularly useful for essay writing and academic vocabulary. For example: as well as, for an example of this, for instance, in addition to, on the other hand, such as .

What to use connectives for:

When you’re writing an essay or assignment there are plenty of tasks you need to achieve: presenting evidence, making arguments and more.

Happily, connectives can help you achieve all these tasks by clarifying your meaning. You can use connectives for:

• Reinforcing or emphasising a point
• Exemplifying and showing results
• Comparing and discussing points of view
• Constructing a timeline or sequence of events
• Listing points (and signposting them)
• Explaining your argument
• Drawing together conclusions

It’s a long list! So master using connectives and you’ll drastically improve the readability of your writing across all sections of your essay.

How to add in useful connective words:

You’re probably already using basic connectives in your writing.

But if you want to get serious about the benefits to your grades, make sure you’re systematic about how you add them during your essay construction – and (later) proofreading to check they make sense on a large(r) scale!

From experience, I would suggest that the best method for choosing and adding effective connectives is to:

• Sketch out a rough draft of your paragraph or essay section
• Are they separate arguments for the same thing? Or opposite points of view? Do they follow on logically (cause and effect) or chronologically?
• Mark where you want to add signposting connectives to indicate structure
• Check your examples of connective word types and choose options that convey the meaning you need…

And for that purpose, we’ve compiled four lists of connective words for you – including the TOP 70 connectives for effective essay writing! So read on…

The three types of connective words:

So let’s get down to the really useful stuff: examples of connectives you can use in different situations in your essays!

There are three main types of connectives that we’re going to explore in turn:

• Comparative , Causal, and Temporal

Comparative connective words

These helpful words and phrases are perfect both for comparing similarities in data and arguments, and for pointing out their differences and oppositions. Use them to compare, discuss and argue.

When comparing points, you’ll often be adding to your argument, so these connectives are used for “ addition ”. The most common connectives for addition are: and, also, furthermore, moreover .

Here are some examples in practice:

• Leonardo Da Vinci was an artist and inventor, and also an influential Renaissance humanist.
• Exam Study Expert’s psychologist William offers expert one-on-one exam coaching . Furthermore , you can sign up for a free introductory session!
• My empirical data demonstrates that … ; similarly , theoretical models projected …

On the other hand , you might need to demonstrate and contrast your argument with the opposing point of view with a connective for “ opposition ”. The most commonly used are: alternatively, except, however, unless .

These examples all demonstrate opposition:

• Winston Churchill is best known for his wartime leadership of the United Kingdom, yet he was already in his 60’s when he took office.
• Some students find great study motivation from starting the day with their hardest task. In contrast , others find getting the ball rolling with smaller tasks more effective.
• Our first questionnaire was comprised of six questions. However , for our second questionnaire we …

Causal connective words

Causal connectives are effective for discussing cause and effect – relationships that have logical links that you want to point out and prove.

As such , academic writing is often full of causal connectives, and many of them demonstrate a very academic vocabulary (great for bonus points in your assignment!).

Most essays and assignments have a section (or several sections!) where you need to draw together your facts, ideas and arguments and point out the connections. These are the connectives to turn to at those moments!

The most commonly used are: as such, as a result (of), because, consequently, therefore, thus .

Here are some examples:

• The brains of London taxi drivers have a larger than usual area that deals with memory because they are required to memorise and navigate thousands of streets.
• Flashcards are a highly effective learning and memory tool, provided that you use them correctly.
• This study surveyed over 3,000 students. As a result , we were able to …

Temporal connective words

Whether you’re explaining the sequence of events that led to a historical battle, or demonstrating the steps in your experiment, temporal connectives are a highly valuable tool.

They’re all about discussing time and the chronology of events – what happened before, during and after . Therefore , they make for great signposting words too!

These examples explore each of the four sections in our temporal connectives lists:

• The law of gravity was not widely understood until it was mathematically formulated by Sir Isaac Newton in 1687.
• If you’re stressed about your exams, mindful meditation can be a great help. At the same time ,an inspirational quote might give you the boost you need!
• Initially , the experiment was expected to demonstrate … Eventually , we came to the conclusion that …

The TOP 70 connective words for effective essay writing!

To make sure that you’ve got the tools you need to improve your grades, we’ve compiled this epic list of all the best connectives to use in academic writing.

This is just a selection from the hundreds of connective words and phrases available. So there’s no need to make your essay stale by over-using the same one or two!

If there’s nothing else you grab when you’re ticking off Step #4 from the connectives methodology above – make sure you grab this list!

It covers all the stages of essay structuring and writing, from introduction to conclusion . And includes lists of connectives for:

• Signposting and listing
• Comparing and contrasting
• Illustrating your findings
• Demonstrating cause and effect
• Emphasising points
• Qualifying your arguments

We’ve highlighted the best and most commonly used connectives for each section to ensure you’ve got THE best resource to improve the quality of your essay immediately.

To finish off , here are some examples to get your essay-writing inspiration flowing:

• Firstly , it is well-known that retrieval practice is an effective learning method as compared with re-reading study texts and notes.
• I’m feeling tired tonight. Nevertheless , I must finish my homework and I want to take the dog for a walk.
• When it comes to …, however , there are several effective methods to …, in particular , …

Good luck with your essay!

Now you’ve mastered adding effective connective words to your essay you’re ready for the next step. Be sure to check out our guide on proofreading your assignment before you hand it in. Good luck!

And for more expert, science-backed study resources, sign up to the Exam Study Expert newsletter right here:

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such an informative blog for the aspirants who are preparing for any exams

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200 Powerful Words List: Jumpstart Your Writing Fast

Any writing with a marketing edge needs to use powerful words, and this powerful words list will help you capture them in your works. 

If you want your social media posts, blog posts, copywriting and even your email subject lines to be as effective as possible, you must master power words. These words make every piece of writing you create, from a simple letter to an important landing page, work better, increasing conversion rates and making people want to take action.

So what are power words? This powerful words list will help you understand these persuasive words and how you can use them to boost conversions, create a best-selling novel or otherwise improve your writing.

Powerful Words List: Discovering the Impact of Powerful Words

200 power words you need to know, happiness power words , prestige, beauty and lust power words, pride and embarrassment power words, trust power words, newness power words, fear and anger power words, sloth power words, humor and curiosity power words, greed power words, mind-blowing power words, sensory power words, safety power words, exclusivity power words, excitement power words, how to use power words to boost your sales, a final word on powerful words list, what are some powerful words, how can you use power words.

Before delving into a power words list, first, you must understand what powerful words are and why you need them. With just one word, many English phrases become incredibly powerful, sparking people to action.

Power works encourage people to take action by triggering an emotional response.  They can also work by triggering curiosity. These two actions make them very helpful in  e-commerce and marketing situations. 

The best way to increase your use of power words is to know what they are. This cheat sheet has a list of popular words that can help you create powerful, effective marketing pieces.

As you work on your content marketing, consider these power words:

Human nature means people want to be happy, and these words make them feel happy or expect happiness from what you’re offering:

3. Astonishing

4. Breathtaking

5. Brilliant

7. Exciting

8. Fascinating

10. Heartwarming

11. Incredible

13. Inspiring

14. Legendary

16. Profound

17. Thrilling

18. Unstoppable

People appreciate beautiful things, and humans tend to want seductive items as well. If you are looking to increase conversions and want to tap these emotions, consider these words:

19. Adorable

20. Breathtaking

21. Charming

22. Delicious

23. Elite 

24. Expensive

25. Glamorous

26. Gorgeous

27. Heavenly

29. Luxurius 

30. Priceless

31. Spellbinding

If people fear that they will get embarrassed, they will be more likely to take action. These words tap into a person’s sense of pride or fear of embarrassment:

32. Achieve

33. Blunder

34. Clueless

35. Cringeworthy

38. Mediocre

39. Obvious

40. Rejection

42. Senseless

43. Shame/shameful

44. Triggers 

45. Unknowingly

This list of power words makes the reader trust what you are writing. Use them in blog post headlines and popup ads to get people to click through and read your content because the words build trust.

47. Absolute

48. Authentic

49. Authority 

50. Captivate

51. Case study

53. Ensured

54. Foolproof

55. Guaranteed

56. Guilt-free

57. Lifetime

58. Memorable

60. Moneyback 

62. Reliable

63. Studies

65. Testimonials

Human nature means people like to be on the cutting-edge, and these words will make them think that you are giving them new or novel information. 

66. Challenge

67. Discover

68. Extraordinary

71. Life-changing

72. Miracle

74. Novel/novelty

75. Sneak peek

If you want to grab the reader’s attention and get them to take action quickly, you may need to tap their fear center. Whether it is the fear of missing out or the shock of something happening in the world, these words evoke fear and anger responses. 

76. Agonizing

78. Awkward

79. Catastrophe 

80. Censored

81. Cover-up

82. Dangerous

84. Disgusting

85. Epidemic

86. Eye-opening

87. Failure

88. Heartbreaking

89. Horrifying

90. Jaw-dropping

91. Limited

92. Revolting

93. Shocking

94. Strange

95. Terrifying

96. Unpopular

97. Vicious

98. Violent

Trigger words that evoke feelings of rest and relaxation can actually be quite effective in your email marketing. Sloth is not necessarily bad when it is at the right time, and tapping someone’s desire to relax can help you get the right action out of your target audience. These words work well:

101. All-inclusive

103. Child’s play

104. Efficient

105. Effortless

106. Formula

108. Jumpstart

111. Minimalist

112. Speedy

113. Simple

114. Tricks

115. Tweaks

116. Uncomplicated 

Sometimes getting someone to laugh a little can help put them in a good mindset to change. Eliciting feelings of curiosity will make them want to click a link. These words can do that:

117. Breaking

119. Diagnosed

120. Discover

121. Emergency

122. Extraordinary

123. Funniest

124. Hilarious

125. Insane

126. Intriguing

128. Little-known

130. Revolutionary

131. Ridiculous

132. Strange

133. Unexpected

People like to have money. People fear not having money. These words tap into the emotions surrounding greed and the fear of scarcity:

134. Affordable

136. Budget

138. Efficient

140. Lucrative

142. Unlimited

People like having their minds blown about something surprising and shocking. These power words work well to do just that:

143. Alluring

144. Amazing

145. Astonishing

146. Awe-inspiring

147. Catapult

148. Defying

149. Explosive

150. Greatness

151. Incredible

152. Mesmerizing

153. Mouth-watering

154. Polarizing

155. Triumph

156. Turbocharge

157. Unbelievable

Sensory power words make you think about one of your five senses. By including those senses, you are able to imagine yourself using the product more thoroughly. Some sensory power words include:

158. Appetizing

159. Dazzling

160. Delectable

161. Fragrant

162. Tantalizing

Read our full list of sensory words .

Like trust, people want to feel safe. These power words make them either fear for their safety or trust that you are giving them safety. 

164. Accuse

165. Assault

166. Beware

167. Caution

168. Danger

169. Ethical

170. Fierce

172. Jeopardy

173. Protect

177. Sure-fire

179. Validate

You can create strong feelings if you use words that give the reader a feeling of exclusivity. These power words work well:

180. Confession

181. Divulge

182. Emerging

183. Insider

184. Little-known

185. Release

186. Secret

187. Special

190. Unconventional

191. Uncovered

192. Unique

194. Untapped

Finally, don’t forget to create a sense of excitement. If you’re launching a new webinar and want viewers, you need to make it sound exciting. Use words like these:

196. Fascinating

197. Riveting

198. Tempting

199. Thrilling

200. Transform

Power phrases and words make your links to your sales pages and landing pages more effective. They are enticing and get people to click to read more.

You can also incorporate these words into your email marketing strategy to encourage more click-throughs to your landing pages. On the pages themselves, use the words appropriately in headings, subheads and other parts of your template to increase the number of people who follow through to become customers or make a purchase.

With the use of power word, bloggers, online marketers and business owners usually see their sales figures go up. Tapping into common emotions is a key way to get people to take action and do business with your company. That said, remember to constrain your use of filler words in sales copy. You might also find our list of pronouns useful.

Keep this powerful words list handy for writing, copywriting and marketing. You’ll want to refer to it regularly as you plan marketing content.

Remember, emotions create actions, and words create emotion. This is why power words work. Learn to wield them well, and you will see your writing become more powerful.

Like this? Check out our list of transition words for essays .

FAQs About Powerful Words List 

Words that evoke emotional responses in the reader are powerful words. Some words that are quite powerful include: Discover Awe-inspiring Breathtaking Hack Latest Undeniable

Use power words to draw attention, make a written piece stand out and encourage your reader to take action. Use them to evoke emotional responses in the reader, get more click-throughs on online marketing ads or make your piece jump out when there are many things the reader is reading, such as when creating a cover letter or resume for a high-demand position.

The 108 Most Persuasive Words In The English Language

Home » Blog » The 108 Most Persuasive Words In The English Language

THE 108 MOST PERSUASIVE WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

It’s a long known fact that the secret to persuasive writing isn’t in the adjectives, it’s in the verbs.

Copywriters know power verbs sell and convince.

Internally, we have a list of 108 verbs that we’ve been using for a good decade, and we recently thought we should share it with proper credit to the original author.

We found that although the list is being recirculated (and in many cases claimed as original by several different authors!), the original author is, in fact, nowhere to be found.

So, if anyone knows who wrote this, we’d love to know!

With or without the original author, it’s still a great list…here it is!

According to legendary advertising man, Leo Burnet, “Dull and exaggerated ad copy is due to the excess use of adjectives.”

To prove it, he asked his staff to compare the number of adjectives in 62 ads that failed to the number of adjectives in Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, and other age-old classics.

Here’s what he discovered:

Of the 12,758 words in the 62 failed ads, 24.1% were adjectives.

By direct comparison, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address contains only 35 adjectives out of 268 immortal words – only 13.1% adjective-to-total-word ratio.

Winston Churchill’s famous “Blood, Sweat and Tears” speech rates even lower and has a 12.1% adjective ratio (81 adjectives from 667 words).

Burnett found that similar ratios applied to great works such as The Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution. Conclusion: Use more verbs, not adjectives.

Verbs increase the pulling-power and believability of ad copy.

That’s why it makes sense to keep this 108-VERB “CHEAT-SHEET” close-by whenever you begin to draft your next space ad, sales letter, Website, or email campaign.

Still unsure how to incorporate these verbs into your marketing campaign? Or, perhaps, you just don’t have the time?

Then consider hiring a team of professional copywriters to do it for you! Talented advertising and marketing writers can take mediocre content and use power verbs to turn it into engaging copy that meets goals and produces results.

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3 thoughts on “ The 108 Most Persuasive Words In The English Language ”

It is remarkable, very amusing piece

Hi there, love your website. I am a teacher and my kids love using your amazing verbs you have provided us with in their writing. Email me and I could send you some drafts of their writing – you’ll be blown away!

Catch up soon 🙂

Thanks, Hope Brown

Hi Hope! We are so happy to hear that our blog has helped you and your students. We would love to see some of their writing!

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30 Advanced Essay Words to Improve Your Grades

• Posted by by Cameron Smith
• 11 months ago
• Updated 3 weeks ago

In this guide, you’ll find 30 advanced essay words to use in academic writing. Advanced English words are great for making academic writing more impressive and persuasive, which has the potential to wow teachers and professors, and even improve your grades.

30 Advanced Essay Words

• Definition: Present, appearing, or found everywhere.
• Example: The smartphone has become ubiquitous in modern society.
• Replaces: Common, widespread, prevalent.
• Definition: Fluent or persuasive in speaking or writing.
• Example: Her eloquent speech captivated the audience.
• Replaces: Well-spoken, articulate.
• Definition: To make less severe, serious, or painful.
• Example: Planting more trees can help mitigate the effects of climate change.
• Replaces: Alleviate, lessen, reduce.
• Definition: In contrast or opposite to what was previously mentioned.
• Example: Some believe in climate change; conversely, others deny its existence.
• Replaces: On the other hand, in opposition.
• Definition: Stated or appearing to be true, but not necessarily so.
• Example: His ostensible reason for the delay was a traffic jam.
• Replaces: Apparent, seeming, supposed.
• Definition: A countless or extremely great number.
• Example: The internet offers a myriad of resources for research.
• Replaces: Countless, numerous.
• Definition: Exceeding what is necessary or required.
• Example: His lengthy introduction was filled with superfluous details.
• Replaces: Excessive, redundant.
• Definition: To cause something to happen suddenly or unexpectedly.
• Example: The economic crisis precipitated widespread unemployment.
• Replaces: Trigger, prompt.
• Definition: Too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words.
• Example: The beauty of the sunset over the ocean was ineffable.
• Replaces: Indescribable, inexpressible.
• Definition: Having knowledge or awareness of something.
• Example: She was cognizant of the risks involved in the project.
• Replaces: Aware, conscious.
• Definition: Relevant or applicable to a particular matter.
• Example: Please provide only pertinent information in your report.
• Replaces: Relevant, related.
• Definition: Showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise.
• Example: The researcher conducted a meticulous analysis of the data.
• Replaces: Thorough, careful.
• Definition: Capable of producing the desired result or effect.
• Example: The medication has proved to be efficacious in treating the disease.
• Replaces: Effective, successful.
• Definition: Mentioned earlier in the text or conversation.
• Example: The aforementioned study provides valuable insights.
• Replaces: Previously mentioned, previously discussed.
• Definition: To make a problem, situation, or condition worse.
• Example: His criticism only served to exacerbate the conflict.
• Replaces: Worsen, intensify.
• Definition: The state or capacity of being everywhere, especially at the same time.
• Example: The ubiquity of social media has changed how we communicate.
• Replaces: Omnipresence, pervasiveness.
• Definition: In every case or on every occasion; always.
• Example: The professor’s lectures are invariably informative.
• Replaces: Always, consistently.
• Definition: To be a perfect example or representation of something.
• Example: The city’s skyline epitomizes modern architecture.
• Replaces: Symbolize, represent.
• Definition: A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds.
• Example: The cacophony of car horns during rush hour was deafening.
• Replaces: Discord, noise.
• Definition: A person who acts obsequiously toward someone important to gain advantage.
• Example: He surrounded himself with sycophants who praised his every move.
• Replaces: Flatterer, yes-man.
• Definition: To render unclear, obscure, or unintelligible.
• Example: The politician attempted to obfuscate the details of the scandal.
• Replaces: Confuse, obscure.
• Definition: Having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgment.
• Example: Her sagacious advice guided the team to success.
• Replaces: Wise, insightful.
• Definition: Not or no longer needed or useful; superfluous.
• Example: His repeated explanations were redundant and added no value.
• Replaces: Unnecessary, surplus.
• Definition: Unwilling or refusing to change one’s views or to agree about something.
• Example: The intransigent negotiators couldn’t reach a compromise.
• Replaces: Unyielding, stubborn.
• Definition: Characterized by vulgar or pretentious display; designed to impress or attract notice.
• Example: The mansion’s ostentatious decorations were overwhelming.
• Replaces: Showy, extravagant.
• Definition: A tendency to choose or do something regularly; an inclination or predisposition.
• Example: She had a proclivity for taking risks in her business ventures.
• Replaces: Tendency, inclination.
• Definition: Difficult to interpret or understand; mysterious.
• Example: The artist’s enigmatic paintings left viewers puzzled.
• Replaces: Mysterious, cryptic.
• Definition: Having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way.
• Example: The pernicious influence of gossip can damage reputations.
• Replaces: Harmful, destructive.
• Definition: Shining with great brightness.
• Example: The bride looked resplendent in her wedding gown.
• Replaces: Radiant, splendid.
• Definition: Optimistic, especially in a difficult or challenging situation.
• Example: Despite the setbacks, he remained sanguine.
• Replaces: Optimistic, hopeful.

Using these advanced words in your essays can elevate your writing, making it more precise, engaging, and impactful.

As you work on your essays, consider the nuanced meanings and applications of these advanced words, and use them judiciously to enhance the quality of your academic writing.

Cameron Smith

Cameron Smith is an English Communication Coach based in Vancouver, Canada. He's the founder of Learn English Every Day, and he's on a mission to help millions of people speak English with confidence. If you want longer video content, please follow me on YouTube for fun English lessons and helpful learning resources!

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100+ Useful Words and Phrases to Write a Great Essay

By: Author Sophia

Posted on Last updated: October 25, 2023

Sharing is caring!

How to Write a Great Essay in English! This lesson provides 100+ useful words, transition words and expressions used in writing an essay. Let’s take a look!

The secret to a successful essay doesn’t just lie in the clever things you talk about and the way you structure your points.

Useful Words and Phrases to Write a Great Essay

Overview of an essay.

Useful Phrases for Proficiency Essays

Developing the argument

• The first aspect to point out is that…
• Let us start by considering the facts.
• The novel portrays, deals with, revolves around…
• Central to the novel is…
• The character of xxx embodies/ epitomizes…

The other side of the argument

• It would also be interesting to see…
• One should, nevertheless, consider the problem from another angle.
• Equally relevant to the issue are the questions of…
• The arguments we have presented… suggest that…/ prove that…/ would indicate that…
• From these arguments one must…/ could…/ might… conclude that…
• All of this points to the conclusion that…
• To conclude…

Ordering elements

• Firstly,…/ Secondly,…/ Finally,… (note the comma after all these introductory words.)
• As a final point…
• On the one hand, …. on the other hand…
• If on the one hand it can be said that… the same is not true for…
• The first argument suggests that… whilst the second suggests that…
• There are at least xxx points to highlight.

Adding elements

• Furthermore, one should not forget that…
• In addition to…
• Moreover…
• It is important to add that…

Accepting other points of view

• Nevertheless, one should accept that…
• However, we also agree that…

Personal opinion

• We/I personally believe that…
• Our/My own point of view is that…
• It is my contention that…
• I am convinced that…
• My own opinion is…

Others’ opinions

• According to some critics… Critics:
• believe that
• suggest that
• are convinced that
• point out that
• emphasize that
• contend that
• go as far as to say that
• argue for this

Introducing examples

• For example…
• For instance…
• To illustrate this point…

Introducing facts

• It is… true that…/ clear that…/ noticeable that…
• One should note here that…

Saying what you think is true

• This leads us to believe that…
• It is very possible that…
• In view of these facts, it is quite likely that…
• Doubtless,…
• One cannot deny that…
• It is (very) clear from these observations that…
• All the same, it is possible that…
• It is difficult to believe that…

Accepting other points to a certain degree

• One can agree up to a certain point with…
• Certainly,… However,…
• It cannot be denied that…

Emphasizing particular points

• The last example highlights the fact that…
• Not only… but also…
• We would even go so far as to say that…

Moderating, agreeing, disagreeing

• By and large…
• Perhaps we should also point out the fact that…
• It would be unfair not to mention the fact that…
• One must admit that…
• We cannot ignore the fact that…
• One cannot possibly accept the fact that…

Consequences

• From these facts, one may conclude that…
• That is why, in our opinion, …
• Which seems to confirm the idea that…
• Thus,…/ Therefore,…
• Some critics suggest…, whereas others…
• Compared to…
• On the one hand, there is the firm belief that… On the other hand, many people are convinced that…

How to Write a Great Essay | Image 1

How to Write a Great Essay | Image 2

Phrases For Balanced Arguments

Introduction

• It is often said that…
• It is undeniable that…
• It is a well-known fact that…
• One of the most striking features of this text is…
• The first thing that needs to be said is…
• First of all, let us try to analyze…
• One argument in support of…
• We must distinguish carefully between…
• The second reason for…
• An important aspect of the text is…
• It is worth stating at this point that…
• On the other hand, we can observe that…
• The other side of the coin is, however, that…
• Another way of looking at this question is to…
• What conclusions can be drawn from all this?
• The most satisfactory conclusion that we can come to is…
• To sum up… we are convinced that…/ …we believe that…/ …we have to accept that…

How to Write a Great Essay | Image 3

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Enchanting Marketing

Writing advice for small business

172+ Power Words That’ll Drive Engagement and Boost Sales

by Henneke | 239 enchanting opinions, add yours? :)

P owerful words grab the attention of readers, make your content more influential, help shape your voice, and get people act on your advice.

This article discusses:

What are power words?

6 super-charged power phrases

What are emotional power words?

A list of emotional power words

What are sensory trigger words?

A list of sensory trigger words

The danger of overusing power words

How to use powerful words in your writing

Throw in your ideas at the top. Crank its engine by hand. Leave the machine humming for a few minutes, and persuasive text rolls out at the other side.

Copy and paste the text onto your website. And voilà: you sell more than ever before.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, writing isn’t that easy. Not yet.

Robots might take over our writing tasks in the future. But for now, human intelligence is still required.

So, let’s concentrate on how our word choice can boost our persuasive powers, shall we?

When you use power words in copywriting, you grab the attention of more people, your content becomes more influential, and people act on your advice. And what’s more … a careful selection of power words helps shape your voice .

Weak words have a shallow meaning—they don’t make readers feel something and they don’t allow readers to visualize your words.

In contrast, power words tend to have strong meanings. They nudge people to take action—to download your report, to contact you for a quote, or to implement your advice.

Three different types of power words exist:

• 6 super seductive words nudging people to take action—their persuasive power seems irrational, but is proven by science.
• Emotional words grab attention because they connect to our feelings.
• Sensory words are powerful and memorable because they make readers experience your words as if they can see the picture you’re painting with words .

Want to know how to use these 3 types of words to add power and pizzazz to your business content?

The 6 super seductive words to boost conversions and social shares

Power word #1. new.

“New” takes us on an adventure, a journey of discovery.

As neuromarketer Roger Dooley suggests , our brains are wired for “new.” Our attraction to novelties helps us innovate and seek new opportunities. If new things weren’t so attractive to humans, we’d still be stuck in our caves. You and I wouldn’t meet here on the web.

Apple has long understood the power of new. They rephrase “new” in multiple ways to seduce readers to upgrade their still fully functional iPhones or iPads:

all-new reimagined from the ground up re-invented from the inside out we had to completely rethink how a keyboard is engineered we redesigned each key and its underlying mechanism

How to use the power of “new” in your writing:

• In emails announcing new products, use “new,” “announcing,” or “introducing” at the start of your subject line
• On sales pages for new products, use feature flashes highlighting the word “new”
• When upgrading an existing product, explain carefully what’s new about it
• When tweeting a new blog post for the first time, use “new blog post” at the start of your tweet:

New Blog Post: 172+ Magic Words to Add Instant Power to Your Content (as Proven by Science): https://t.co/C0FBkwEp3I pic.twitter.com/AnMsuhzELH — Henneke Duistermaat (@HennekeD) July 19, 2016

Power word #2. Free

Our attraction to freebies is irrational …

In his book “ Predictably Irrational ,” Dan Ariely explains how Amazon.com started offering free shipments for orders over a certain price.

The offer was a great success, but not in France. Ariely explains:

Instead of offering FREE! Shipping on orders over a certain amount, the French division priced the shipping for those orders at one franc. Just one franc—about 20 [dollar] cents. This doesn’t seem very different from FREE! But it was. In fact, when Amazon changed the promotion in France to include free shipping, France joined all the other countries in a dramatic sales increase. In other words, whereas shipping for one franc—a real bargain—was virtually ignored by the French, FREE! Shipping caused an enthusiastic response.

“FREE” is not only powerful when adding bonuses to a product or service; you can also use “Free” to attract attention to your blog posts.

Here’s how Copyblogger harnesses the power of “free” in headlines to attract attention and boost social sharing:

• 13 Simple Questions to Help You Draft a Winning Content Strategy [Free Worksheet]
• Your Step-by-Step Email Marketing Strategy Guide [Free Checklist]

How to harness the power of “free” in your writing:

• Consider giving away a “free bonus” with a product
• Give away a free e-course, report or download for people who opt-in to your list
• Use phrases like “free checklist” in the headline of your blog posts (and when promoting your post in social media)

Power word #3. Imagine

Why is “imagine” almost hypnotic?

When people can hold your product in their hands, their desire to own your product increases .

This is why car salesmen tempt you to test drive a car. And why jewelry sellers suggest you try that necklace to see how it looks.

Online this seems tricky. But we can let people imagine how they would feel if you help them. How much smoother their business would run. How much more relaxed they would feel. How excited they’d be about their business, their career, their life.

Here’s how Ramit Sethi ( I Will Teach You to Be Rich ) uses the power of the word “imagine” to help you visualize what taking his course might mean for you:

Imagine you use this program to identify a profitable idea. You know it works because you get your first enthusiastic, paying client who is delighted to pay for your services. You now have new money in the bank. What would that mean? Would you be more confident of your abilities? Would you be more motivated to earn more and use it to pay off debt, increase your savings, or take an extravagant vacation?

Powerful, eh?

Power word #4. Because

Presenting a reason why people should do something can trigger an automatic response. Even if the reason is bogus.

In his book Influence , Cialdini describes the photocopier experiment: If you don’t give a reason why people should allow you to jump the queue, only 60% lets you go ahead. But when you give a reason, using the word “because,” 93% of people allow you to jump the queue:

Apple ‘s copywriters like the word “because,” too:

Our accessories go together with iPhone so well because they’re designed together.

If iPhone 6s seems like it’s tailor made for iOS, that’s because it is.

Together, they deliver a powerful and enjoyable experience because they were designed that way — together.

Power word #5. Instant

Imagine playing Deal or No Deal . You can get a guaranteed payment for $240,000 now or you can keep playing for a chance to win a million dollars.

What would you do?

As neuromarketer Roger Dooley suggests , our attitudes towards risks, rewards, and time are all different.

But we all know the feeling of wanting something now.

This is why I love my Kindle. I can start reading a new book instantly.

To harness the power of instant gratification use the following phrases in sales copy or blog headlines:

• Instant access
• 3-minute sign-up
• Start my free course now
• Add Instant Power to Your Business Content With These 172+ Magic Words

To make people feel good about starting instantly, you may want to indicate there’s no risk:

• 30 day money back guarantee
• No credit card required (for a trial)
• Risk-free / No risk
• No lock-in period / Cancel anytime

Human psychology is complicated. You know that already. So, “instant gratification” isn’t always the answer to increasing sales.

When I marketed range cookers, we introduced a unique service where you could order your cooker in any color. Not only did a custom-colored cooker command a premium price, you also had to wait up to three months (compared to a couple of weeks for a standard order).

Similarly, when I implemented a waiting list for copywriting inquiries, I could instantly increase my fees.

That’s the power of exclusivity.

What appeals more to your customers? Instant gratification or exclusivity?

Power phrase #6. How to

As bestselling author Jonah Berger explains in his book Contagious , we like to pass along practical information:

People like to help one another. We go out of our way to give advice or send others information that will make them better off.

That’s why the phrase “How to” is powerful, and that’s why it’s one of the 20 most retweeted phrases .

No wonder, popular blogs love using “how to” in their headlines:

• How to Write Conversationally: 7 Tips to Engage and Delight Your Audience (The second most shared post on Copyblogger this year so far, 3,200+ shares)
• How to Build the Right Traffic Metrics Dashboard for 2016 (the fifth most popular on Moz.com, 7,700+ shares)
• How to Optimize Your Content for Google’s Featured Snippet Box (the second most popular post on HubSpot, 9,200+ shares)

“How to” works best when the advice promised is specific and valuable.

Bonus power “phrase”: numerals

Numerals like 10 or 7 or 93 aren’t words, but they can instantly boost your persuasiveness.

Usability expert Jakob Nielsen tracked eye movements of users visiting websites , and he found that “numerals often stop the wandering eye and attract fixations, even when they’re embedded within a mass of words that users otherwise ignore.”

Numerals attract attention because they look different from letters. Moreover, numbers represent facts.

Here’s how Case Study Buddy uses numbers in their sales copy:

Before the call, we’ll send your client a list of questions so they can prepare their answers and collect any results in advance. Then, on a fast, friendly call (~30 mins), we’ll get their side of the story.

We transform that interview into a persuasive, 750 – 1,250 word case study that will show every new lead…

And here’s how Andrea Vahl uses a number on her About page:

I’m also the co-founder of Social Media Manager School, an online training course that has helped over 500 students learn how to start their own business as a social media manager or consultant.

And Copyblogger ‘s About page:

Since January 2006, Copyblogger has been teaching people how to create killer online content.

How to take advantage of the power of numerals:

• Write numbers as digits (e.g., 7) rather than words (seven) because digits stand out more
• If your blog post has a number of tips, consider using a digit in your headline— list posts tend to be popular
• When writing sales copy , consider which facts you can share about your product, your service or your experience

A special note about YOU

Gregory Ciotti calls “you” one of the 5 most persuasive words in the English language , and D Bnonn Tennant says it’s a hypnotic word .

I’m a fan of the word “you,” too. Because it focuses the writer’s attention on why a product or service would be useful for their readers. What’s in it for them?

The word “you” also helps create a more conversational tone so you don’t sound like a pushy salesman.

However, the proof about “you” is hazy. In A/B tests ( like this one by Michael Aagaard ), button copy like “Get my free report” often outperforms “Get your free report.”

A quick reminder of the most powerful words

Can you spot the power words?

Want to make that text more persuasive?

• Add more facts to increase your credibility: what is so special about your magic bone?
• Back up your claims with testimonials or scientific proof.

You can’t rely on power words alone to sell your products.

Emotional trigger words

You sell on emotion, but you justify a purchase with logic ~ legendary copywriter Joseph Sugarman

We’d like to see ourselves as rational beings.

But without emotions we can’t make decisions as Antonio Damasio, professor in neuroscience, has proven .

Moreover, Jonah Berger’s research has shown that strong emotions drive people to sharing content. He highlights the importance of high-arousal emotions:

Anger and anxiety lead people to share because, like awe, they are high-arousal emotions. They kindle the fire, activate people, and drive them to take action.

Emotions are involved in the purchase of almost any product.

SweatBlock , for instance, mixes anxiety about excessive underarm sweating with the joy of feeling in control ( hat tip to Joanna Wiebe for this example ). The sales copy also uses trust phrases like “100% safe,” “soothing,” and “confidently”:

Dab on a SweatBlock towelette, and control excessive underarm sweating for up to 7 days. The 100% safe and soothing trade-secret formula – combined with the towelette – gives you results you can count on. So you can confidently raise your arms.

And here’s how the copy moves to joy:

Get up to 7 Days of Dry High-Fives, Hugs and Hoorays

Your choice of emotional words strongly influences your voice. Compare, for instance, these two headlines:

• 4 Bombproof Formulas for Openings That Grab Readers and Don’t Let Go (SmartBlogger)
• A 3-Step Formula for Captivating Your Audience With a Few Opening Lines (Copyblogger)

Or compare these:

• 20 Ways to Be Just Another Mediocre Blogger Nobody Gives a Crap About (SmartBlogger)
• 11 Ways to Bore the Boots Off Your Readers (Copyblogger)

How subtle or how strong would you like your voice to be?

The easiest way to start using emotional words is to empathize with your reader. What problem is she struggling with? Which emotions does she feel when thinking about this problem? Or how can your content or service make her feel better?

The 8 basic emotions as defined by Plutchik provide a useful starting point for connecting with people’s emotions in your writing :

• Anticipation

The list below is not a definitive list. Use a thesaurus to find more words and pick the words that suit your voice.

Emotional power words #1: Joy

Love, loveable, to love, falling in love Joy, joyful, to enjoy Tender, tenderness Devotion, devoted, to devote Nurturing, to nurture Bliss, blissful Seduction, seductive, to seduce To cherish Luck, lucky Ecstatic Triumph, triumphant Glorious Jubilant

Emotional power words #2: Trust

Trustworthy Reliable, reliability Faith, faithful Admiration, to admire Proven Guaranteed Scientific, science Research-backed Facts, factual Absolutely Authoritative, authority Saint Fool-proof, sure-fire

Emotional power words #3: Fear

Banned Abuse, abusive Steal, stolen, plunder Pussyfoot Anxiety, anxious Despair Freaking out Horror Sabotage Failure, to fail Miserable Burning out Threat

Emotional power words #4: Surprise

Awe Jaw-dropping Mind-blowing Mesmerizing Spectacular Remarkable Enchantment, enchanting, to enchant Astonishing Terrific Breath-taking Spellbinding To beguile To bewitch

Emotional power words #5: Sadness

Tearful Heartbroken Grief-stricken Weepy Teary-eyed Sobbing, to sob Troubled, trouble Lovesick Austerity Hostile Resentful Envy, envious Shame

Emotional power words #6: Disgust

Crap, crappy Shit, shitty Trash, trashy Junk Lousy Outrageous Vulgar Icky Obscene Scuzzy Repellent, to repel, repulsive Ridiculous Nasty

Emotional power words #7: Anger

Rage, raging Fury, furious Hatred, to hate Irritating Annoying Bitter To sulk Grumpy Tantrum Flare up Hysterics Panic Frenzy, frantic

Emotional power words #8: Anticipation

Little-known Yearning, to yearn Lust Passion, passionate Craving, crave Longing, to long for Inspiration, to inspire Enthusiasm, to enthuse Charming, to charm To woo Forgotten Discovery, to discover Mystery, Mysterious

Sensory power words

Sensory words are more powerful and memorable than ordinary words because they make your reader see, hear, smell, taste, or feel your words.

When reading non-sensory words, your brain processes text. But when you read sensory words different areas of your brain light up. Your brain processes sensory words as if you taste a sweet cake, as if you see a dazzling display of colors, as if you feel a rough texture.

Sensory words can even boost sales. Research into menus suggests that describing dishes using sensory words makes more people buy them.

Sensory words can add power to headlines to grab attention:

4 Delightful Editing Tips to Make Your Words Dazzle and Dance Why Adverbs Stink (and the Magic of Editing) How to Turn Bland Text into Sparkling Online Content

Sensory words can also help make abstract content more concrete.

The following examples are from Nancy Duarte’s book Resonate :

Just like you tap your toe to a good beat, your brain enjoys tapping along with a good presentation, but only if something new is continually unfolding and developing. People rarely act by reason alone. You need to tap into other deeply seated desires and beliefs in order to be persuasive. You need a small thorn that is sharper than fact to prick their hearts. That thorn is emotion. Haven’t you often wished you could make customers, employees, investors, or students snap, crackle, pop, and move to the new place they need to be in order to create a new future?

A list of sensory power words

Sensory words describe how we experience the world:

• Words related to sight indicate colors, shape, or appearance
• Words related to touch describe textures; you can use them to describe feelings and abstract concepts
• Words related to hearing describe sounds
• Taste and smell are closely related
• Motion is sensory , too. By using active words or describing movement, you help your readers experience your words

Sensory power words #1: Visual words

To sparkle, sparkling Gigantic Glittering To shimmer, shimmering Crooked Bulky Glow, glowing, to glow Hazy Shadowy Gloomy Drab

Sensory power words #2: Tactile words

To fluff, fluff, fluffy Gritty, grit Rough Silky smooth Slimy To stick, sticky Creepy Crisp Hairy To chill, chilled To stifle

Sensory power words #3: Auditory words

Buzz, to buzz Hubbub Humming, to hum Faint Deafening Squeaky Earsplitting Serene To sizzle, sizzling Snappy Boom!

Sensory power words #4: Words related to taste and smell

Bland Rotten Fragrant Stale Juicy Stinky Gooey Bitter Yummy Lipsmackingly Pungent

Sensory power words #5: Motion words

Soaring To resonate, resonating To breeze through Staggering, staggeringly Blown away Paralyzed Eye-popping Gobsmacked Shocking, shockingly To grab Jaw-droppingly good

The looming danger of overused power words

Ever found sales text a little sleazy? Or over-the-top?

An overdose of clichéd power words makes your content sound pushy or even creepy.

For instance:

• Shocking Celebrity Secrets Revealed by Their Former Bodyguards
• 9 Insider Copywriting Secrets Revealed

Can you smell a whiff of tabloid press sleaziness?

The art of writing seductive content

To write persuasive content start with imagining how you help your clients.

How do you make their life better? Which pain do you take away? How does your service make them feel? Why would they enjoy working with you?

Content becomes persuasive when you stop selling your products and quit selling your ideas.

Instead, demonstrate you understand your reader’s problems and show how you transform their lives—no matter how small these changes are.

So, connect with your reader’s wishes and feelings first.

Then, offer a service they’ll love.

And lastly, sprinkle a little magic dust over your content to boost your persuasive powers.

FREE 22-page ebook How to Choose Words With Power and Pizzazz

• Discover 4 wordy rules for captivating your audience
• Learn how to fortify and energize your message
• Get examples that show you how to spice up your writing

Recommended reading on powerful writing:

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Reader Interactions

Leave a comment and join the conversation cancel reply.

May 25, 2024 at 7:20 am

I’m excited to read your ebook. I’m looking forward to learning different types of writing. Thank you!

May 25, 2024 at 11:24 am

I hope you’ll enjoy the ebook, Darlene. Happy writing!

March 9, 2023 at 4:50 pm

Actually, this is an eye-opener course I haven’t seen before, I’m happy to be here and continue learning through this good website.

Thank you so much for allowing us to get a free course over here so that we can practise making money online in future

March 9, 2023 at 7:01 pm

I hope you’ll enjoy my snackable writing course, Godwin. Happy writing!

February 15, 2023 at 5:19 pm

The clarity, energy, and simplicity of your writing inspires me Henneke. You’ve launched me on a journey to burn a well of midnight study oil and practice like an Olympian.

February 15, 2023 at 5:23 pm

That’s such a lovely compliment. Thank you, David. And happy writing!

October 12, 2022 at 2:33 pm

Great, to the point and useful. Cheers Henneke.

October 12, 2022 at 4:22 pm

I’m glad you enjoyed it, Sudhir. Happy writing!

September 12, 2022 at 11:51 pm

Very informative and instructive. Thanks so much.

September 13, 2022 at 6:23 am

Thank you, Aina. Happy writing!

August 18, 2022 at 2:03 am

Crisps were my favourite snack… Now , your mini-course seals the deal

August 18, 2022 at 9:26 am

Thank you. I’m glad you’re enjoying my snackable course 🙂

June 27, 2022 at 12:45 pm

Thank you very much and i just finished my first snack in 3 days instead of the 24 hours intended for lol. Would be nice to drop a few lines of appreciation for the good work and i am following up gradually like it says take it slowly first rule:)

June 27, 2022 at 12:54 pm

I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the first snack and are taking it easy. This blog post on powerful words is a rather big meal—best to savor slowly 🙂 Thank you so much for stopping by!

May 28, 2022 at 4:41 am

Yes, the true real power to those words. I feel this after reading this blog post, I got more power.

May 28, 2022 at 7:04 pm

I’m glad you enjoyed this, Avinash. Happy power writing!

March 29, 2022 at 9:02 pm

This list is insightful! Thanks so much for sharing.

March 30, 2022 at 10:02 am

Thank you, Chris. I’m glad you like these power words. Happy writing!

March 13, 2022 at 4:21 am

Great list. I’m going to have to make a few changes to my blog 🙂

March 13, 2022 at 12:48 pm

Thank you, Sherwin. Happy writing!

December 2, 2021 at 4:15 pm

I have really enjoyed reading this. Thank you for sharing your skills in such a vibrantly interesting way.

December 4, 2021 at 3:55 pm

Thank you, Ursula. Happy power writing! 🙂

October 3, 2021 at 12:30 pm

Very useful ideas and content. Thanks Henneke to spend your time to help out other entrepeneurs with your thoughts 🙂

After reading this article I tried to subscribe for the free course but was always getting an error message. Could you help me? Thanks a lot!

October 3, 2021 at 5:32 pm

Hi Fabio, How strange that you weren’t able to join the free course. I have added you manually and the first snack should be on its way shortly. If you have a chance, would you be able to let me know what error message you received? I’d like to investigate what’s going wrong. Thanks so much for taking the trouble to post your experience. Thanks, Henneke

September 1, 2021 at 3:15 pm

I am blown away by this post and your blog. I have been devouring your content over the last couple of days and have been enjoying every bit of it. I wish I had found you sooner. There is just so much of valuable advice out here and I seem to be running around like a headless chicken in your quaint little corner on the internet. 😉 Thanks for the tasty and easily digestible snacks that get delivered to my inbox daily 🙂

September 1, 2021 at 3:17 pm

correction… I have been “savouring” every bit of it. lol.

September 2, 2021 at 9:37 am

Thank you so much, Kimberly. I’m glad you’re enjoying my blog and the snacks 🙂

Happy writing!

February 7, 2021 at 8:33 pm

Hi, I belong to a non-profit and we are looking for a powerful intro to encourage people to join our organization

February 8, 2021 at 9:33 am

I believe that creating a powerful intro doesn’t start with finding the power words but with understanding why people would join your organizing—how can you connect with their wishes or fears.

January 17, 2021 at 12:13 am

Your command of powerful, magical words is truly spell-binding. It summons my desire to do some serious wordsmithing. Thank you. I look forward to further snacking.

January 17, 2021 at 5:04 pm

I’m glad you also appreciate the magic of words, Russ. Happy writing, and enjoy your snacks 🙂

January 7, 2021 at 9:07 am

This first snack already helps to write for the people I want to relate with because of my purpose. Like you do with your blogs, give aways. This is new for me. But this first blog has proven to be valuable for me. Thank you for being so helpful.

January 7, 2021 at 9:29 am

I’m glad this was useful for you, Paulien. Happy writing!

December 30, 2020 at 3:03 am

Wow, This is awesome I am a newbie studying copywriting and found your blog so powerful

Love this……..

December 30, 2020 at 11:37 am

Thank you, Maria. I hope you’ll find more useful information on my site! 🙂

December 1, 2020 at 1:08 pm

Hai Henneke!

I am Elida from Indonesia. Your article is super insightful! Thank you for being so thoughtful and powerful in sharing all of the materials, God bless you 🙂

December 1, 2020 at 3:28 pm

Hi Elida, I’m glad you’re enjoying my blog. Thank you for stopping by 🙂

September 16, 2020 at 2:49 am

Hey Henneke, wow! Outstanding! I loved your insights… and happy that I came across your article. It’s funny that we *think* we can convey the right messages with the right wording, but there’s always room to improve. You nailed it 🙂 Thanks!

September 16, 2020 at 9:38 am

I’m glad you enjoyed it, William. Thank you for stopping by. Happy power writing! 🙂

August 24, 2020 at 7:24 am

Hi Henneke,

I never doubted that it would be a mouthful of snack again for the day.

I will anticipate more snacks to come.

Thanks *burp

August 24, 2020 at 6:46 pm

Happy snacking, Omat 😉

August 15, 2020 at 12:13 pm

Very impressive writing.

Your content is always epic.

I am enjoying your free snacks also. It was second email that brought me here.

Grateful to you for such an authority work.

August 15, 2020 at 12:26 pm

Thank you, Abdul. I’m glad you enjoyed this!

June 27, 2020 at 3:31 am

Hi Henneke, My name is Pedro, I’m from Brazil, and I discovered these teachings without meaning to, which made me immediately delighted.

I hope to assimilate all this content. But as I love to write, I will continue to strive. Thank you.

June 27, 2020 at 5:43 pm

Welcome, Pedro 🙂 I hope you’ll enjoy my writing!

June 10, 2020 at 9:22 pm

This is jaw-dropping content!

June 10, 2020 at 9:23 pm

May 9, 2020 at 7:38 pm

Henneke, That’s a wonderful guide and I am going to make right use of these power words while writing the next copy.

Thank you so much for sharing this. Looking forward to learn from Enchanting Marketing.

These days I rely more on this blog rather than others to improve my copywriting skills.

Stay safe 🙂

May 10, 2020 at 1:01 pm

I’m so glad you’re enjoying my blog, Jasmit! Thank you for stopping by.

I hope you’re staying safe and well, too. 🙂

April 25, 2020 at 3:24 am

Waoooo Henneke , many thanks for the powerful article. With this. i can go ahead to craft attention-grabbing copy. A great day ahead.

April 25, 2020 at 12:23 pm

I’m glad you enjoyed it, Peter. Happy power writing!

March 22, 2020 at 4:16 am

Very handy! Bookmarked for future use 😉

March 22, 2020 at 6:57 pm

Thank you, Ken. I’m glad you like this.

March 8, 2020 at 9:16 am

Thanks for sharing, now I know my writing is going to improve. I’ve been searching for years for examples like these. I can write but seems so basic to me.

March 8, 2020 at 11:37 am

I’ glad you enjoyed this, Sara, and I appreciate you stopped by to leave a comment. Happy writing!

March 6, 2020 at 5:05 pm

Henneke, March is dedicated to women in my country.

Find this article is the best gift that the month of women has just given me.

Thank you so much. It is long and it is worth going through it.

It’s a gold mine and too simple tips.

Without imagining, these are words that transform writing and even instant customer engagement.

Magic words, I tell you. Thank you again and happy woman month and courage for this exciting, pathetic and also, motivating job that you do to help these millions of people in need of improving marketing copywriting and their blogs.

March 8, 2020 at 11:36 am

Thank you so much for your kind message, Oscar. Happy power writing!

February 25, 2020 at 6:28 pm

Wow, this list is enormous, very insightful stuff!

February 25, 2020 at 9:00 pm

I’m glad you enjoyed this one. Thank you for stopping by, Lucas.

February 14, 2020 at 4:36 pm

Made my day. Beautifully explained how persuasive content can be developed.

February 14, 2020 at 5:55 pm

Thank you, Rahul 🙂

January 30, 2020 at 6:31 pm

Thanks for sharing these tips, it’s timely. I can now spice up my writing with moderate Persuasive words.

January 31, 2020 at 11:39 am

Happy writing, Shafiu!

January 28, 2020 at 10:56 am

Thank you for a great article/post found when researching what power words actually are when working on my website copy perfect 🙂 signed up to your feed looking forward to learning from you.

January 28, 2020 at 11:11 am

Thank you, Elaine. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Happy writing!

January 7, 2020 at 6:42 pm

My word is inspirational

January 7, 2020 at 8:28 pm

That’s a nice one!

December 31, 2019 at 5:31 pm

Yay, this was great, took a ton of notes, now to try to wake up my posts!

December 31, 2019 at 5:49 pm

Go for it! Happy writing, Sandi 🙂

December 28, 2019 at 9:47 pm

Congratulations on a fabulous blog. Informative, interesting and motivating. Love the drawings. What an amazing post. I also started late into creative writing and am eager to learn everything. Thank you very much.❤❤

December 29, 2019 at 7:47 pm

Thank you for your fabulous and generous compliment, Cally.

I started writing in my early 40s and I’m so glad I did. It’s changed my life for the better. It’s never too late to start with creative writing.

December 13, 2019 at 1:25 pm

Hi Henneke, Feeling elated after having tasted your snacks. I am visibly excited to find wonderful tips to hone writing skills. With loving regards. I.R.Pathak

December 13, 2019 at 7:40 pm

I’m glad you’re enjoying the snacks 🙂

Happy writing, and thank you for stopping by.

December 8, 2019 at 3:04 pm

Hi Henneke I have strong desire and enough time for copywriting and find your course very helpful and awesome! thank you I already read many articles and other things about copywriting and I’m practicing every day I can’t wait for the rest of the snacks! can I get it more quickly? please

December 8, 2019 at 7:50 pm

I’m glad you’re enjoying the snacks! They’re all set up to go out daily in the first week, and then every other day afterwards. It’s not easy to change that for one person, as it’d change the schedule for everyone.

December 2, 2019 at 7:05 pm

Thanks again for this list Henneke. This page is a permanent tab on my sales browser. I keep coming back to it. I shared it on my Conversion Rate Optimization Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2318753834860736/

December 8, 2019 at 7:48 pm

Thanks so much for sharing, Robert. I don’t have a Facebook account, so I can’t join your group. (Sorry, I somehow missed your comment last week.)

October 18, 2019 at 10:53 pm

Hi henneke It was such a Powerful article. I feel myself lucky to find your website. thinking if my prayers got answered may be ? Being a non native English speaker, I find it hard to craft an expert piece

October 20, 2019 at 6:06 pm

Crafting an expert piece is hard no matter whether you’re a native English speaker or not. English is also my second language.

October 12, 2019 at 11:11 pm

I loved this , you really did sprinkle some creative fairy dust on my dusty brain today!

October 13, 2019 at 4:12 pm

That makes me happy. Happy writing, Clare!

September 18, 2019 at 8:39 pm

This is such a gift, I appreciate it so much.

I googled “power words” because I noticed that Tony Robbins uses powerful words all the time that entice deep emotions within me and I found your post.

I am just starting blogging and this is such an amazing resource, you over-delivered and you also inspired me to produce even higher-quality content myself starting now. You lead by example.

I am going to be using this as a reference to always look into for writing copy and I hope I will create time to doing your courses. I already subscribed to your newsletter and the first e-mail is already powerful.

You opened my eyes to new strong deep ways to connect and communicate with my audience.

Thank you! Jakub

September 19, 2019 at 11:48 am

What a lovely comment!

It makes me happy that you feel inspired to produce more powerful content yourself. You put a big smile on my face 😀

Thank you so much for stopping by, Jakub.

September 10, 2019 at 10:54 pm

Greetings Henneke! I’m just discovering you and I am glad I found you! You have some great content that I can’t wait to dive into. I’m doing E-commerce and looking for those power words was always a challenge. I will check out your blog as well. Thank you for putting out this content!! Mel San Diego, Ca.

September 11, 2019 at 8:24 am

Hi Mel, welcome 🙂

I am glad you’ve discovered my blog and are enjoying my tips. Happy writing!

August 22, 2019 at 9:25 pm

Amazing. Not only do I begin to understand what I’m doing wrong but also now I know what I can do to change it. Thank you. (And I’m a writer but copy is not my strength).

August 23, 2019 at 5:31 pm

I’m glad you found this useful, Alicia. Happy power writing! And thank you for stopping by.

August 21, 2019 at 9:34 pm

Wow, the first newsletter has so much to give. I am starting to think for the first time in my life, that joining this email list will prove to give a lot of value. I was nervous about this new job of content writing for blogs on the following website. But, thanks to you, now I know where to keep looking back while crafting a good write-up. This is such a wonderful piece of content.

August 22, 2019 at 12:56 pm

Thank you for joining my newsletter, Ankur. And happy writing!

July 25, 2019 at 7:22 pm

I just stumbled upon your website today. And I am blown by what I’ve seen so far. Thank you for packing in such a punch in just the 1st newsletter. You make this so much fun to learn.

July 25, 2019 at 8:44 pm

Thank you so much for your generous compliment, Tathagata. Happy writing!

July 7, 2019 at 7:12 pm

Hello Henneke, greetings from Panama. I’m Erika Olmos and I really liked the information about copywriting in your blog. I love. My question is compatible with the powerful words you mention in your article for one in Spanish. Thank you

July 8, 2019 at 4:28 pm

Hi Erika, I do not know Spanish, but I believe using power words is a universal principle. For instance, why would someone experience sensory words different in a different language if the meaning is the same? The exact words may be different, but the principle would be the same.

July 8, 2019 at 5:27 pm

Analyzing that of sensory experience, I come to the conclusion that it is real. Although my English is not advanced and I sometimes have to use the translator, I was able to connect with what you wrote in this article and I felt it was in accordance with my experience. Thank you for inspiring me and learning from your snacks and nutritious foods from your blog. Gracias……

June 29, 2019 at 4:35 pm

I only recently came across your website. I love all the tips / advice you provide, thank you!

I am in Affiliate Marketing and just today I signed up to have a blog website created for me.

I am excited to start blogging as a method to earn from.

I know I might not start earning from it immediately but I am grateful that I came across your site so that I can incorporate all the goodness learned here to further improve my writing skills.

I’m excitedly looking forward to receiving your writing tips.

Thank you very much.

June 30, 2019 at 7:41 pm

Congrats on starting your blog. I wish you lot of blogging joy.

Thank you for stopping by.

June 19, 2019 at 1:14 pm

This is really unique subject that you’ve talked about. I never knew power words till I landed here.

Definitely gonna try! Thank you.

June 19, 2019 at 4:39 pm

Great! Happy power writing, Mudassir 🙂

April 4, 2019 at 3:37 pm

contenu inspirant! désolée pour le point d’exclamation:)

April 4, 2019 at 5:30 pm

Merci beaucoup 🙂

January 31, 2019 at 6:29 am

Found the article incredibly helpful.

U doing a fantastic job Henneke, more grease to ur elbow and two thumbs up for you

January 31, 2019 at 8:52 pm

I’m glad you found this helpful, Burhana. Happy power writing! 🙂

January 30, 2019 at 9:05 am

As I went through your content I kept self-reflecting and wondering if I should call myself a writer. This is amazingly unbelievable. I will finish all my snacks Henneke. At this rate, am seeing myself being a guru in this field. Many Thanks. Deeply appreciate. Janet.

January 31, 2019 at 8:51 pm

I’m glad you’ve enjoyed this post, Janet. Happy snacking! 🙂

January 3, 2019 at 5:57 pm

Thank you for this list! While I’m not in the marketing business, per se, I did find it incredibly useful when amping up my resume. In a sense, I am marketing myself, and these power words helped a lot!

January 4, 2019 at 4:22 pm

Yes, you can use it to amp up your resume, too! Good luck with your job search.

December 27, 2018 at 8:19 pm

Writing is so much work. Not sure if I can write something earth shattering everytime!

December 27, 2018 at 9:23 pm

It’s true that writing is a lot of work, but your writing doesn’t need to be earth shattering. Just think about who you’re writing for and make sure your content is valuable to them.

December 26, 2018 at 2:16 am

Dear Henneke’What a captivating work! A splendid article stashed with the wealth of word gems. It’s all inspirational, It’s all ingenious, It’s all value, It’s all stunning, Its eye opening It’s rousing, And above all; thanks for ingraining the skill of power words into my mind. Thanks Have a joyful day Muhammad Iqbal

December 27, 2018 at 9:26 pm

I’m glad you’re enjoying the power words, Muhammad! 🙂

December 20, 2018 at 7:04 pm

Hey Henneke,

Cool article – easy to follow, lots of great knowledge and value. Thanks for taking the time to write and for sharing!

I’m quite new to writing copy. What do you think about the use of power words when writing copy for certain industries, like the financial industry?

My guess is that numerals work well. I’m not sure about using sensory words.

Would love to hear your view.

PS: I’ll definitely be skipping a couple of queues now too, like that printer example you’ve got going on there in the article ha!

December 23, 2018 at 11:27 am

We expect a bank to have a more formal tone of voice in their communication so you’d have to be careful which power words you choose to suit that tone of voice, but words related to security and guarantees can be powerful, too. Or when talking about saving for a pension, you also have an opportunity to connect powerfully with customer’s dreams, wishes and fears.

October 22, 2018 at 4:29 am

I just realized I was taking notes on stuff that has nothing to do with my business but can help me in life. This was an article that I read twice and then had my business partner read. Loved the Because and Dog examples.

October 22, 2018 at 8:57 pm

Thank you, Mark. Your comment put a big smile on my face 🙂

October 17, 2018 at 9:45 pm

Great tips and advise and a great eye-opener regarding content, especially the use of numbering to catch the reader’s attention – amazing how web-content differs from fiction writing; completely different animal! All about the attention and providing clear value and information. Thank you Henneke.

October 21, 2018 at 8:08 am

Yes, it’s amazing isn’t it, how differently we read a fiction book from reading online text.

I’m glad you enjoyed this post, Fiona. Thank you for stopping by 🙂

October 12, 2018 at 2:35 am

I’m a fan. Bookmarked. Saved. Reread. #VirtualHug 🙂

October 12, 2018 at 11:48 am

Yay! Thank you, Franklin. Happy power writing! 🙂

September 21, 2018 at 7:35 am

I am 2 days new to Enchanting Marketing and your content is as promised; “enchanting”.

Thanks for this eye-opener of a post. Never thought of these words as “power words”: It’s the last time I’ll take these puppies for granted. You’ve shown me that they pack some serious punch when used creatively.

I found you through a mention by Elna Cain https://elnacain.com/blog/sites-to-help-become-successful-freelance-writer/ and am now a hopeless Henneke-posts junky.

Needless to say how much I adore Henrietta!

Only 2 days and already I’m-a whistling

Effusive THANKS Henneke!?

September 23, 2018 at 8:00 pm

Only two days, and you’ve already fallen in love with Henrietta? That makes me smile 🙂

Thank you for your lovely comment, Lisa. And thank you to Elna for sending you here.

Happy power writing!

August 25, 2018 at 11:43 pm

I LOVE your style. I am craving to write but I have no writing skills, only some eclectic knowledge which I want to integrate into a simple , clear, but playful way. Thank you for bringing joy into my life, when everything seems to be too serious,in a phony kind of way.

August 26, 2018 at 6:11 pm

Hi Corina – thank you for your lovely comment.

Your writing skills might not be as good as you’d like them to be yet , but you sure possess some writing skills and it sounds like you have enough ideas to share, too. So, give it a go!

July 28, 2018 at 6:45 pm

I just glanced through today’s email and got super-charged with a dreamy vocabulary contained in your 172+powerful words, kow-tow to your excellent presentation.

July 30, 2018 at 6:43 pm

Thank you, Sanjay. I’m glad you like my list of power words. Happy writing!

June 26, 2018 at 6:39 am

I like stunning, is that a power word?

June 27, 2018 at 7:55 pm

Yes, you could classify “stunning” as a power word. There’s no strict line between what it and what isn’t a power word. I find “stunning” a little overused, but that’s just a personal opinion!

June 25, 2018 at 12:24 am

Hi Henneke, Absolutely the best article i have read in awhile. You’re my new inspiration. Looking forward to more of your enchanting write ups. Thank you.

June 27, 2018 at 7:54 pm

Thank you for your lovely comment, Zoza. Happy writing!

June 24, 2018 at 11:23 am

I had never imagined myself even adding a little bit of laughter?? to an already laughing reader with my WRITING …. I guess I could do better now if I should follow your guide.. Absolutely Splendid….

June 27, 2018 at 7:52 pm

Thank you, Ghandy. Happy power writing!

June 16, 2018 at 8:10 am

Wow, amazing you have the power to attract readers heart. Grab the attention of the reader. I fall in love with your work

June 16, 2018 at 12:11 pm

Thank you, Kezang.

June 15, 2018 at 4:45 am

Henneke, you are absolutely brilliant. This was so helpful I can’t even put it into words. Thank you a thousand times.

June 16, 2018 at 12:14 pm

I’m glad you like it, Frank. Happy power writing!

June 13, 2018 at 7:55 am

Loved every word. And it is so actionable. I actually stopped in the middle of reading and wrote the opening paragraph of my blog’s new about page using the power word imagine.

Thanks, Henneke.

June 13, 2018 at 1:53 pm

That’s the power of the “imagine” 🙂

Thank you for sharing your story, Jabal. It makes me happy 🙂

May 17, 2018 at 3:44 am

They say “The best things in life are free.” and you are exactly right about that. I wish everything in this world is free, but I know it will have consequences. Sad.

I don’t usually make comments to articles or blogs, but this made my brain pumped up to get back on writing! Thank you Ms. Henneke

May 17, 2018 at 9:28 am

Happy writing, Nigel! Thank you for stopping by 🙂

May 3, 2018 at 3:49 pm

It was really helpful. Those words are truly useful for better content strategy. Hope to get more guidelines in the next section.

May 3, 2018 at 5:39 pm

I’m glad you enjoyed it. Happy power writing!

March 30, 2018 at 11:32 pm

An excellent article and it is the MOST comprehensive guide to using power words that I’ve come across!” Thanks

March 31, 2018 at 7:47 pm

Thank you, David. Happy power writing! 🙂

March 3, 2018 at 2:44 am

Dear Henneke ,

You have gifted your followers a treasure chest of invaluable ‘word gems’

You are a genius

Vivek Hattangadi – Ahmedabad, India

March 3, 2018 at 2:49 pm

Hi Vivek – I’m glad you like this treasure chest of words 🙂 Happy power writing!

March 15, 2018 at 10:46 am

Hi Henneke, your article reinforces me in some of my beliefs about the power of words and teaches me what was unknown or hidden to me. I can assure you that my way of writing will now improve. Thank you

March 15, 2018 at 9:37 pm

That’s great, Bouba. Happy power writing!

March 1, 2018 at 2:07 am

“Shocking celebrity secrets revealed by their former body guard”

Help me! went over this again and again and I still think it’s catchy if the info is as juicy as the headline.

What am I missing?

Great piece Hanneke getting to love you.

March 1, 2018 at 2:19 pm

It’s as you say. It only works if the info is as juicy as the headline, and often that’s not the case. It’s also a style of writing that gets associated with gossip; such a style is, in most cases, not suitable for people who are writing for business.

February 12, 2018 at 4:07 am

Now that I’ve devoured this priceless post for the first time, I realize I’ve barely raked the surface of its potential. And yet I already feel like more of a mover and shaker. For a new list post I wrote yesterday, I had a giant bell ring in my head about how to energize my headline using an attention-grabbing power word.

The result? I’m 100% thrilled with my headline. Bumping up my satisfaction level with it by about 50%!

(I vowed to practice the enchanting skills of engagement that you teach in this post to write this comment.)

“Thank you” seems paltry when you generously share without limit. I’ve stashed your offering in a white-hot position in my Firefox Bookmarks so I can squeeze every precious drop of value from it.

P.S. I went overboard using power words, but the 15 minutes I spent challenging myself to write a meatier comment was enlightening!

February 12, 2018 at 12:04 pm

“I’m 100% thrilled with my headline.”

That makes me happy 🙂 Thank you for your lovely comment, Milli. Happy power writing!

January 17, 2018 at 4:13 pm

This lesson provided me with an abundance of words to incorporate into my daily vocabulary. Thank You

January 17, 2018 at 5:51 pm

Great! Happy writing 🙂

December 4, 2017 at 8:26 pm

Every copywriter’s treasure! Just what I was looking for. You are my savior in disguise. Loved it. Thanks so much, Henneke 🙂

December 4, 2017 at 8:44 pm

I’m glad you like it, Trisha, and thank you for stopping by 🙂 Happy power writing!

November 10, 2017 at 3:31 am

Wow, Have just signed up to your 16 part series as I am kick starting a side business that has just been dribbling along. After going through all the technique, I realised something was missing! – no, I mean that an essential ingredient was absent from the mix.

The Copy. I mean good copy. Can you imagine what it would feel like to know that someone was hanging off your every word? That is how I felt reading this blog and how I would like my readers to feel when I write for them.

I am sure that I will be sending many readers your way.

November 11, 2017 at 7:56 pm

Oh, wow, what a lovely comment, John. I appreciate it! Thank you 🙂

October 22, 2017 at 10:15 pm

The me-time I have just spent with you has been wow! Refreshing, inspiring and definitely more-ish. Great stuff. Thank you.

October 24, 2017 at 6:31 pm

What a lovely comment. Thank you, Ursula. Feel free to come back for more 🙂

August 15, 2017 at 7:13 pm

Henneke A post I will savour and read repeatedly.

An absolute joy to read.

I am going to create a swipe file of all your articles.

August 15, 2017 at 9:00 pm

Thank you so much, Poovanesh. This is one of my personal favorites, too 🙂

Happy swiping!

July 14, 2017 at 1:24 pm

Dear Henneke This time you did a bloody-brilliant job !! The more I read you the more I amazed You are my professor, I follow your everything (guide, sentence style, words) about writing, and try to write like you, sweet & simple.

LOTS OF LOVE TO YOU <3

July 15, 2017 at 4:55 pm

Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Hasan.

July 2, 2017 at 12:24 am

Do they make those bones for cats? My little fella wants one. Love your writing Henneke. You are my inspiration.

July 4, 2017 at 4:30 pm

Magic bones for cats … I need to check that out 😉

Thank you for your lovely comment, Deborah.

June 23, 2017 at 3:09 am

Every time I pick up an article you’ve written Henneke, I’m gobsmacked. You never fail to amaze me. Yet, another jam packed, beautifully written, forehead-smacking slice of advices I’m holding onto.

Many, many thanks.

June 23, 2017 at 1:37 pm

What a powerful comment! Thank you so much for your compliment, Judy.

Happy writing! 🙂

May 8, 2017 at 12:20 pm

Fantastic Henneke.It’s Magic Words Archive:) Can I contribute lil more?

Emotional power words – Curiosity Controversial,Forbidden,Secret agenda,Censored,Concealed. Emotional power words – Urgency Instantly, Profitable, Missing Out, Proven, Revolutionary Emotional power words – Confusion and Helplessness Embarrassed, disillusioned, judgmental, doomed, woozy Emotional power words – Anger Corrupting, Provoke, Damaging, malicious, Atrocious Emotional power words – Safe and Satisfied Guaranteed, Investment, Ecstatic, Authentic, First ever Emotional power words – Happy and Alive euphoric, on top of the, fun-loving, spunky, tickled

These are from my swipe files.Simple words but powerful impact.Yes..Overdose ruin copy.Mastering of using them make it enchanting.

Bundle of Thanks!!!

May 10, 2017 at 3:33 pm

That’s a great selection of power words, Mehera. I particularly like woozy, spunky, and tickled 🙂

March 22, 2017 at 3:42 pm

Your website is a real gold mine for startup bloggers like me. I’ve learned a great deal in two days. It’s been an amazing experience so far. I don’t usually leave comments but couldn’t resist. Love you.

March 22, 2017 at 4:00 pm

That’s great, Khadijat. Happy writing!

March 12, 2017 at 3:11 am

What a great practical post. Thanks for all of the links to research!

March 13, 2017 at 12:23 pm

I’m glad you enjoyed it, Mel. Happy power writing!

January 18, 2017 at 4:54 am

This is awesome! This is my first time reading a sales copy materials. This is indeed very powerful words.

This is also useful for inspiring others. I thinking to use these words in our leadership seminary this Sat.

Thank you very much for sharing!

January 18, 2017 at 10:49 am

Sounds good. Good luck with your seminar!

September 21, 2016 at 5:47 pm

I had this article open in my browser for ages because it was so juicy (already embracing your tips). Congratulations on this one, is absolutely brilliant!

Currently writing descriptions for my new product, a paper guide that will soon replace that of Lonely Planet. Actually I wanted to thank you for all your inspiration, I just quit my job – exciting times.

Kind regards, Virginia

September 21, 2016 at 10:12 pm

Wow, that’s brilliant. Congratulations on quitting your job. Can you “see” my big smile? 😀

And a paper guide to replace the Lonely Planet. That sounds fabulous.

I’m so happy for you!

August 19, 2016 at 11:17 am

Hi Henneke, Wow! This is gobsmackingly good, I’ve been regularly referring back to it for inspiration so I’ve finally printed it off and will pin it near my desk.

Thank you so much 🙂

August 19, 2016 at 11:35 am

I love the word “gobsmacking” – it’s on my list of faves. I feel honored you’ve printed this post and pinned it near your desk.

Happy writing, and thank you for stopping by! 🙂

August 15, 2016 at 12:17 pm

I’m new to your site and finding the power word post and the comments insightful. In my industry everything is described as “high quality”. If we leave out that descriptive phrase in favor of another (yet to be determined), do we run the risk of implying by omission that our products/services are “low quality”?

August 15, 2016 at 3:31 pm

Welcome, Susan 🙂

The problem with “high quality” is exactly what you suggest – everyone uses it. This doesn’t mean you can’t use it but on its own it isn’t very persuasive. I suggest combining it with specifics explaining why your products/services are high quality. See also the second point here: https://www.enchantingmarketing.com/subtle-copywriting-errors/

Thank you for stopping by!

August 13, 2016 at 4:12 pm

My mind is absolutely blown! (poof there it goes..)

I have only begun to study copywriting because I have come to realize that my copy is B-O-R-I-N-G.

So to help my measly little website about moving…I am trying to spruce it up. Thank the Lord that I have found you and this amazing article.

I am going to read it over and over and over until it is my brain permanently.

August 14, 2016 at 2:55 pm

I’m glad you enjoyed it, Jae. Happy power writing! 😀

July 26, 2016 at 9:02 am

I’ve been loving your jaw-dropping ‘snacks’.

It has created an insatiable craving for more :P.

I’ve been lurking in the dark for a while, but after this post I had to stop by and ‘thank’ you for your buzzing content.

I’m really happy I found you via the smartblogger post, have been blown away so far and can tell you that you had an instant fan ;).

Looking foward to reading more enchanting blog posts.

Thanks once again and have a lovable, joyful and breath-taking day.

July 26, 2016 at 9:08 pm

What a lovely comment! Thank you so much, Rich.

I like your use of sensory words … “lurking in the dark,” “buzzing content,” “being blown away,” …

And of course, I’m delighted to hear you’ve become an “instant” fan.

July 24, 2016 at 12:04 am

Hi Henneke. You packed a lot of very valuable information in this post. As for your last point about overusing power words, you need to use moderation in everything about life. The real trick to using the power words is to keep them under your readers’ radar so that they have the desired effect of getting them fully engaged in what you are saying without setting off any alarms that may get them questioning your words.

I’m going to have to go back and make some notes. Thanks for sharing this info.

July 24, 2016 at 12:50 pm

Yep, you’re so right – most things in life need to be used in moderation. And as soon as power words become buzzwords, they lose their persuasive powers, and we’ll have to look for new ones. That’s one of the reasons why writing is so fascinating, I think.

Thank you for stopping by again, Ben. Happy writing!

July 23, 2016 at 2:11 pm

I am thrilled to find your website today. I’ve heard about you, of course. I just realized I’ve been here over an hour and bookmarked some of your posts. By the way, who did the art for the images? 🙂 Love it!

July 24, 2016 at 12:48 pm

Welcome, Vidya. Nice to “meet” you 🙂

I make the illustrations myself (using colored pencils!). Glad to hear you like them!

Thank you for stopping by to leave a comment. I appreciate it.

July 22, 2016 at 10:26 am

Wonderfully comprehensive and generous Henneke as usual… you are amazing!

July 22, 2016 at 10:33 am

Thank you so much, Mary. Happy writing!

July 21, 2016 at 1:03 pm

Nice collection. This post was really helpful and engaging. It’s great to learn from you.

July 22, 2016 at 10:30 am

July 21, 2016 at 10:48 am

I had 4 specific ideas to implement soon and sent it to my colleagues. This is massive Henneke! I love the bone example!

July 21, 2016 at 12:54 pm

Thank you so much, Zsuzsa. That’s great to hear! I’d love to hear about the results when you implement those 4 ideas 🙂

July 20, 2016 at 2:32 pm

Hello Henneke,

This is a very interesting and revealing article. No doubts, having these powers on your copies can really boost its conversion and click-through rate. The major thing is to ensure the word is highly relevant.

I’ve never thought of using the word “new post” while tweeting my new articles and, now I can see the difference it can make.

For instance, you often tweet multiple times daily and without adding that “new post” your readers won’t be able to know when you have a new post.

This is what I should start doing too.

Thanks for sharing.

July 20, 2016 at 6:08 pm

Yep, that’s a good point. First, make sure your word is relevant. Only then consider which words could use a little extra power.

Thank you for stopping by again, Theodore!

July 20, 2016 at 10:30 am

Henneke, I love reading your articles. I get excited when I get an email from you because I just know it’s going to be a good read.

I always feel I’ve learnt something new after reading anything you write, and this post is no exception.

If I had just 1% of your copywriting talent, I would be a very happy man 🙂

Thank you for all your hard work. I’m already looking forward to your next email!

July 20, 2016 at 10:53 am

Thank you so much for your lovely comment. I appreciate it, David.

Please don’t expect another in-depth article like this next week. I’ll be back to a normal length article 😉

July 20, 2016 at 8:34 am

Inspirational, Henneke!

I’m never a big fan of overly-used power words. Through the post though, you clearly showed how they can be put to good use. I’m tempted by the magic bone advertisement except I only have a cat. 😛

This post will took me a while to distil, bookmarked.

Thanks for sharing!

Cheers, Anh

P.S. I just retweeted.

July 20, 2016 at 10:52 am

I’m with you. Many power words are overused and they’ve lost their power over time – like cliches. I don’t want to read another article about “killer headlines” and prefer to avoid “world-class companies with best-in-class products.” 😉

A lot of sensory and emotional words have a subtle power which I like.

Happy writing, Anh, and thank you for sharing.

July 21, 2016 at 8:22 am

Well said, Henneke. I guess it’s better to search for your own power words than use the saturated ones like “killer headlines”.

July 20, 2016 at 4:12 am

Delicious post Henneke, you never make mad or sad, just glad always. That’s why your posts are #1 on my list. Keep the words rolling out. Always ready to receive and ingest. Thank you, Time with you is high value.

July 20, 2016 at 10:42 am

I’m delighted to be #1 on your list. Thank you 🙂

July 20, 2016 at 1:47 am

Hi Henneke, English is not my mother language. I find I am using the same boring words over and over again in my email and blog. Thank you for this great post! I will read over and over again and use these words you recommended. Best, Nell

July 20, 2016 at 10:41 am

English is not my mother language either. I sometimes wonder whether non-native speakers like us have an advantage as we can be more creative with words.

July 20, 2016 at 12:37 am

An excellent article Henneke and it is the MOST comprehensive guide to using power words that I’ve come across! Kind regards Mark

July 20, 2016 at 10:39 am

Thank you, Mark. I enjoyed writing this – I find power words fascinating.

I appreciate your comment!

July 19, 2016 at 11:21 pm

I know if I could wrangle words the way you tell us to, I could write better. It’s so hard to think of them, though, while writing or even editing. These lists will push me on to new heights, I think. Thanks so much!

July 20, 2016 at 10:07 am

I like the word “wrangle” 🙂

And I often use a thesaurus to pick up new words. I do this while editing. It can be time-consuming, but over time it goes quicker.

July 19, 2016 at 11:17 pm

I could spend hours reading your posts Henneke – and make a point not to, though I was seduced into reading Roger Dooley’s post by the ‘neuro’ reference, which is a big interest of mine. Then I read a couple more of his posts before returning to your brilliant article. Jam- packed and bursting at the seams with relevant, useful information. I bow to your mastery. Double thumbs up!

July 20, 2016 at 9:40 am

“Jam-packed” is another personal favorite 🙂

Roger Dooley has a lot of interesting articles. I also recommend his book Brainfluence.

Thank you for stopping by, Joan!

July 19, 2016 at 9:45 pm

So chock-full of information!! Thank you so much – I’m just learning this world of blogging – about to write my 11th blog about art and creativity. I appreciate your advice.

July 19, 2016 at 9:48 pm

I love the word “chock-full!”

Thank you for your lovely comment, Laura 🙂

July 19, 2016 at 8:44 pm

One of the best posts ever! Thank You!

July 19, 2016 at 8:49 pm

Thank you, Bill. Happy writing! 🙂

July 19, 2016 at 8:40 pm

Another awe inspiring post. I was left slack jawed from the revelations.

I can image the hubbub this post will stir up on Social Media.

I am coping the words for later use. I always leave your site with ideas that I can implement immediate in my writing.

Thank you Henneke you are my hero.

By the way, email me as soon as that robot hits the market.

Slack-jawed – that’s a nice one, Barry!

As soon as that robot hits the market, I’ll retire. But I’ll make sure to notify you of my retirement. 🙂

Thank you for your lovely comment, Barry.

July 19, 2016 at 6:55 pm

Very concise use and list of power words here,Henneke.

I know that within the past few months, anytime I would write something, I wanted to make sure it was void of gobbledygook. So I would study your posts and more specifically, the words you would use to describe certain things.

Now I don’t have to do that anymore because if this amazing post.

– Andrew

P.S. Love the dog bone sales page. Damn near convinced me to get it for my dog.

July 19, 2016 at 7:17 pm

Glad you enjoyed this one, Andrew!

I’ll send you a free sample of the Magic Bone 😉

July 19, 2016 at 6:50 pm

Hi Henneke, What an awesome post you have crafted. On reading the title I was little confused but after reading the post got many new words. Thanks for sharing.

July 19, 2016 at 7:14 pm

What was confusing about the title? Do I need to change it?

I appreciate your feedback!

September 20, 2016 at 3:56 pm

When I read the title I thought the article was 172 words long. Little did I know 🙂 Great, truly great, insanely great article. I’m seriously thinking of buying a dog!

September 20, 2016 at 4:01 pm

“I’m seriously thinking of buying a dog!” This made me laugh so much. Thank you, Clive 🙂

And sorry to hear you had to wade through 3,000+ words when you only expected 172! 😉

July 19, 2016 at 5:14 pm

Pure magic! Thank you for such an incredible post…..I’m gonna devour this over & over 🙂

July 19, 2016 at 5:16 pm

Thank you, Carla. Happy power writing! 🙂

July 19, 2016 at 4:58 pm

I have a special file for your emails with links to your articles – they are exceptional. Let’s use power words – they are mind blowing. My hope is to keep all the information you present in order in my head – like in a good toolbox. Thanks again.

July 19, 2016 at 5:09 pm

Thank you for your lovely comment, Alexei.

July 19, 2016 at 4:24 pm

Hey Friend. Excellent information and I love the artwork. 🙂

Thank you, my friend 🙂

July 19, 2016 at 3:48 pm

Power words, I love ’em! Great selection of words here. It’s always interesting how emotive and persuasive some words are, isn’t it?

Good heads up regards over-doing them too. One to watch out for.

Yep, use in moderation like with all good things 🙂

Thank you for stopping by, Tom!

Awesome post Henneke!! Definitely one to bookmark! Thanks for the shout out! I also like fun words together like crazy-good.

July 19, 2016 at 5:07 pm

Yes, I like those, too. Like outrageously good 🙂

Great to see you’re sharing your wisdom at the Content Promotion Summit, too!

July 19, 2016 at 3:08 pm

Hell. I missed that power word 😉

I never understood the photo copier example. I am sure it would not work if I tried! Explaining why you want something certainly does not work as well on paper. ‘Please leave a testimonial, because they help me a lot’ does not do the trick.

July 19, 2016 at 3:20 pm

Yes, “hell” is a good power word, too. There’s hundreds (perhaps thousands?) more power words missing – no definitive list exists 🙂

“Because” probably works better when we give a real reason that sounds less self-indulgent. “I’d love to get a testimonial from you because you’re the best known blogger in the Netherlands and other readers would trust your advice.”

July 19, 2016 at 3:36 pm

Damn and fuck are my favorites 😉

I was actually thinking of giving a reason to people you don’t know, on a website. That is not working at all. People have to know you personally before they want to do you a favor, I think. I mean a real favor, like giving you a testimonial.

July 19, 2016 at 3:05 pm

This is insanely brilliant. I am going to read this over and over. You have outdone yourself this time my friend. (Love the Magic Bone example btw… my dogs are convinced…) 😉

Haha! I had thought you and your dogs would love the Magic Bone 🙂

“Insanely brilliant” are great power words, too.

July 19, 2016 at 3:10 pm

I’m learning from the master. 😉

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About Henneke

I never saw myself as a writer, but in my early forties, I learned how to write and discovered the joy of writing. Now, I’d like to empower you to find your voice, share your ideas and inspire your audience. Learn how I can help you

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700+ Power Words in English You Need to Know and Use

As a general rule, power words can change a person’s life. The right words spoken at the right time can mean the difference between success and failure. It is essential to be mindful when choosing words to avoid any potential negative consequences. How a word is said can significantly impact those around you. Be sure to use power words wisely to achieve your desired outcome.

Power Words

Power words are important for strong introductions. They create a sense of drama and excitement that can hook your reader and pull them into the rest of your piece. Strong power words can also help to convey your message quickly and effectively. Here are some tips for choosing the right words to introduce your writing:

• Choose words that are active and engaging. Use verbs that convey movement and action, such as “thrust,” “strike,” or “burn.”
• Use adjectives to add color and intensity. Vivid adjectives will help to capture your reader’s attention, such as “gleaming,” “fearsome,” or “smoldering.”
• Be specific. Avoid general terms, and use concrete images instead. This will help engage your reader’s senses and create a more powerful experience.
• Use sensory language. Words can have a powerful impact on our lives. Learning to use positive words can help improve our mood and attitude. Saying positive things to ourselves is a critical way to stay positive. Words can also be used to hurt or damage others.

Power Words | Image 1

What are Power Words?

Power words are important for any writer, blogger, or marketer. They add punch and emphasis to your content. But what are power words?

Power words are strong verbs and adjectives that help your readers visualize and feel the emotions you want them to experience. They create a sense of urgency and compel your audience to take action.

If you’re looking to add some power to your writing, here are a few tips:

• Identify the emotion you want to evoke.  Whether you’re trying to generate excitement or create a sense of urgency, start by thinking about the emotion you want to tap into.
• Choose strong verbs and adjectives.  Once you know the emotion you’re targeting, look for powerful verbs and adjectives that will help convey that feeling.

Using power words in an introduction can help engage the reader and persuade them to continue reading. Power words are strong, descriptive verbs and adjectives that create a visual image for the reader and help convey the piece’s tone. Using power words in an introduction can immediately capture the reader’s attention and set the tone for the rest of the article.

Some common power words that can be used in introductions include: shocking, fascinating, alarming, amazing, incredible, terrible, wonderful, horrific, and terrific. These words can help evoke a strong reaction from the reader and draw them into the article. Choose your power words wisely to create a powerful opening for your writing.

List of Power Words

Power words are essential for any writing. They help to create a more powerful and impactful message. Incorporating these words into your work can engage your readers and convey your ideas more effectively. Here is a list of some of the most powerful words you can use:

• Action verbs : These words convey movement and action, which can help keep your readers engaged. Some examples include run, jump, swim, and fly, daring, delicious, dynamic, elegant, enchanting, excellent
• Strong adjectives : These words add intensity and power to your writing. Examples include huge, massive, colossal, and enormous. Here is the additional list of some powerful words that you can use in your writing: Amazing, awesome, beautiful, big, blockbuster, bodacious, brave, brilliant, charismatic, classic, colossal, courageous, creative
• Adverbs : These words modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs to add power to your writing. Examples include quickly, suddenly, fiercely, loudly, exciting, extraordinary, fabulous, fantastic, and fearless. Moreover, the following powerful words can help you be more successful in life: Resilience, Determination, Faith, and Perseverance.

Following are list of 680+ power words in English.

• According to
• All-inclusive
• Ass kicking
• Astonishing
• Authoritative
• Awe-inspiring
• Backstabbing
• Be the first
• Behind the scenes
• Best selling
• Black market
• Blacklisted
• Bloodcurdling
• Captivating
• Cataclysmic
• Catastrophe
• Charismatic
• Cheat sheet
• Child’s play
• Comprehensive
• Confessions
• Confidential
• Controversial
• Cringeworthy
• Devastating
• Don’t miss out
• Don’t worry
• Downloadable
• Extraordinary
• Eye-opening
• Fascinating
• Frightening
• Good-looking
• In less than
• In record time
• Inexpensive
• Ingredients
• Interesting
• Jaw-dropping
• Know it all
• Last chance
• Little-known
• Login required
• Marked down
• Members only
• Mind-blowing
• Mischievous
• Money-grubbing
• Moneymaking
• Mouthwatering
• Never again
• No nonsense
• No obligation
• Nothing to it
• Piece of cake
• Pleasurable
• Preposterous
• Price break
• Professional
• Promiscuous
• Provocative
• Quick-witted
• Recession-proof
• Running out
• Sensational
• Shellacking
• Sick and tired
• Simple as ABC
• Spectacular
• Stimulating
• Straightforward
• Studies show
• Super-human
• Supersecret
• Tantalizing
• Thought-provoking
• Track record
• Trade secret
• Turbo charge
• Unauthorized
• Unbelievable
• Uncomplicated
• Unconditional
• Unconventional
• Under the table
• Under wraps
• Underground
• Underhanded
• Undiscovered
• Unexplained
• Well respected
• Mesmerizing
• Enchantment
• Breath-taking
• Spellbinding
• Trustworthy
• Reliability
• Research-backed
• Falling in love
• To long for
• Inspiration
• To discover

In conclusion, using powerful words can effectively engage your audience and create a powerful and persuasive message. Using strong verbs, adjectives, and adverbs can make your writing more impactful and memorable. So next time you sit down to write, choose your words carefully and use them to your advantage.

Power Words | Image

Power Words | Image 2

Power Words | Image 3

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Words to Use in an Essay: 300 Essay Words

By Hannah Yang

Table of Contents

Words to use in the essay introduction, words to use in the body of the essay, words to use in your essay conclusion, how to improve your essay writing vocabulary.

It’s not easy to write an academic essay .

Many students struggle to word their arguments in a logical and concise way.

To make matters worse, academic essays need to adhere to a certain level of formality, so we can’t always use the same word choices in essay writing that we would use in daily life.

If you’re struggling to choose the right words for your essay, don’t worry—you’ve come to the right place!

In this article, we’ve compiled a list of over 300 words and phrases to use in the introduction, body, and conclusion of your essay.

The introduction is one of the hardest parts of an essay to write.

You have only one chance to make a first impression, and you want to hook your reader. If the introduction isn’t effective, the reader might not even bother to read the rest of the essay.

That’s why it’s important to be thoughtful and deliberate with the words you choose at the beginning of your essay.

Many students use a quote in the introductory paragraph to establish credibility and set the tone for the rest of the essay.

When you’re referencing another author or speaker, try using some of these phrases:

To use the words of X

According to X

As X states

Example: To use the words of Hillary Clinton, “You cannot have maternal health without reproductive health.”

Near the end of the introduction, you should state the thesis to explain the central point of your paper.

If you’re not sure how to introduce your thesis, try using some of these phrases:

In this essay, I will…

The purpose of this essay…

This essay discusses…

In this paper, I put forward the claim that…

There are three main arguments for…

Example: In this essay, I will explain why dress codes in public schools are detrimental to students.

After you’ve stated your thesis, it’s time to start presenting the arguments you’ll use to back up that central idea.

When you’re introducing the first of a series of arguments, you can use the following words:

First and foremost

First of all

To begin with

Example: First , consider the effects that this new social security policy would have on low-income taxpayers.

All these words and phrases will help you create a more successful introduction and convince your audience to read on.

The body of your essay is where you’ll explain your core arguments and present your evidence.

It’s important to choose words and phrases for the body of your essay that will help the reader understand your position and convince them you’ve done your research.

Let’s look at some different types of words and phrases that you can use in the body of your essay, as well as some examples of what these words look like in a sentence.

Transition Words and Phrases

Transitioning from one argument to another is crucial for a good essay.

It’s important to guide your reader from one idea to the next so they don’t get lost or feel like you’re jumping around at random.

Transition phrases and linking words show your reader you’re about to move from one argument to the next, smoothing out their reading experience. They also make your writing look more professional.

The simplest transition involves moving from one idea to a separate one that supports the same overall argument. Try using these phrases when you want to introduce a second correlating idea:

Additionally

In addition

Furthermore

Another key thing to remember

In the same way

Correspondingly

Example: Additionally , public parks increase property value because home buyers prefer houses that are located close to green, open spaces.

Another type of transition involves restating. It’s often useful to restate complex ideas in simpler terms to help the reader digest them. When you’re restating an idea, you can use the following words:

In other words

To put it another way

That is to say

To put it more simply

Example: “The research showed that 53% of students surveyed expressed a mild or strong preference for more on-campus housing. In other words , over half the students wanted more dormitory options.”

Often, you’ll need to provide examples to illustrate your point more clearly for the reader. When you’re about to give an example of something you just said, you can use the following words:

For instance

To give an illustration of

To exemplify

To demonstrate

As evidence

Example: Humans have long tried to exert control over our natural environment. For instance , engineers reversed the Chicago River in 1900, causing it to permanently flow backward.

Sometimes, you’ll need to explain the impact or consequence of something you’ve just said.

When you’re drawing a conclusion from evidence you’ve presented, try using the following words:

As a result

Accordingly

As you can see

This suggests that

It follows that

It can be seen that

For this reason

For all of those reasons

Consequently

Example: “There wasn’t enough government funding to support the rest of the physics experiment. Thus , the team was forced to shut down their experiment in 1996.”

When introducing an idea that bolsters one you’ve already stated, or adds another important aspect to that same argument, you can use the following words:

What’s more

Not only…but also

Not to mention

To say nothing of

Another key point

Example: The volcanic eruption disrupted hundreds of thousands of people. Moreover , it impacted the local flora and fauna as well, causing nearly a hundred species to go extinct.

Often, you'll want to present two sides of the same argument. When you need to compare and contrast ideas, you can use the following words:

On the one hand / on the other hand

Alternatively

In contrast to

On the contrary

By contrast

In comparison

Example: On the one hand , the Black Death was undoubtedly a tragedy because it killed millions of Europeans. On the other hand , it created better living conditions for the peasants who survived.

Finally, when you’re introducing a new angle that contradicts your previous idea, you can use the following phrases:

Having said that

Differing from

In spite of

With this in mind

Provided that

Nevertheless

Nonetheless

Notwithstanding

Example: Shakespearean plays are classic works of literature that have stood the test of time. Having said that , I would argue that Shakespeare isn’t the most accessible form of literature to teach students in the twenty-first century.

Good essays include multiple types of logic. You can use a combination of the transitions above to create a strong, clear structure throughout the body of your essay.

Strong Verbs for Academic Writing

Verbs are especially important for writing clear essays. Often, you can convey a nuanced meaning simply by choosing the right verb.

You should use strong verbs that are precise and dynamic. Whenever possible, you should use an unambiguous verb, rather than a generic verb.

For example, alter and fluctuate are stronger verbs than change , because they give the reader more descriptive detail.

Here are some useful verbs that will help make your essay shine.

Verbs that show change:

Accommodate

Verbs that relate to causing or impacting something:

Verbs that show increase:

Verbs that show decrease:

Deteriorate

Verbs that relate to parts of a whole:

Comprises of

Is composed of

Constitutes

Encompasses

Incorporates

Verbs that show a negative stance:

Misconstrue

Verbs that show a positive stance:

Substantiate

Verbs that relate to drawing conclusions from evidence:

Corroborate

Demonstrate

Verbs that relate to thinking and analysis:

Contemplate

Hypothesize

Investigate

Verbs that relate to showing information in a visual format:

Useful Adjectives and Adverbs for Academic Essays

You should use adjectives and adverbs more sparingly than verbs when writing essays, since they sometimes add unnecessary fluff to sentences.

However, choosing the right adjectives and adverbs can help add detail and sophistication to your essay.

Sometimes you'll need to use an adjective to show that a finding or argument is useful and should be taken seriously. Here are some adjectives that create positive emphasis:

Significant

Other times, you'll need to use an adjective to show that a finding or argument is harmful or ineffective. Here are some adjectives that create a negative emphasis:

Controversial

Insignificant

Questionable

Unnecessary

Unrealistic

Finally, you might need to use an adverb to lend nuance to a sentence, or to express a specific degree of certainty. Here are some examples of adverbs that are often used in essays:

Comprehensively

Exhaustively

Extensively

Respectively

Surprisingly

Using these words will help you successfully convey the key points you want to express. Once you’ve nailed the body of your essay, it’s time to move on to the conclusion.

The conclusion of your paper is important for synthesizing the arguments you’ve laid out and restating your thesis.

In your concluding paragraph, try using some of these essay words:

In conclusion

To summarize

In a nutshell

Given the above

As described

All things considered

Example: In conclusion , it’s imperative that we take action to address climate change before we lose our coral reefs forever.

In addition to simply summarizing the key points from the body of your essay, you should also add some final takeaways. Give the reader your final opinion and a bit of a food for thought.

To place emphasis on a certain point or a key fact, use these essay words:

Unquestionably

Undoubtedly

Particularly

Importantly

Conclusively

It should be noted

On the whole

Example: Ada Lovelace is unquestionably a powerful role model for young girls around the world, and more of our public school curricula should include her as a historical figure.

These concluding phrases will help you finish writing your essay in a strong, confident way.

There are many useful essay words out there that we didn't include in this article, because they are specific to certain topics.

If you're writing about biology, for example, you will need to use different terminology than if you're writing about literature.

So how do you improve your vocabulary skills?

The vocabulary you use in your academic writing is a toolkit you can build up over time, as long as you take the time to learn new words.

One way to increase your vocabulary is by looking up words you don’t know when you’re reading.

Try reading more books and academic articles in the field you’re writing about and jotting down all the new words you find. You can use these words to bolster your own essays.

You can also consult a dictionary or a thesaurus. When you’re using a word you’re not confident about, researching its meaning and common synonyms can help you make sure it belongs in your essay.

Don't be afraid of using simpler words. Good essay writing boils down to choosing the best word to convey what you need to say, not the fanciest word possible.

Finally, you can use ProWritingAid’s synonym tool or essay checker to find more precise and sophisticated vocabulary. Click on weak words in your essay to find stronger alternatives.

There you have it: our compilation of the best words and phrases to use in your next essay . Good luck!

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Hannah Yang

Hannah Yang is a speculative fiction writer who writes about all things strange and surreal. Her work has appeared in Analog Science Fiction, Apex Magazine, The Dark, and elsewhere, and two of her stories have been finalists for the Locus Award. Her favorite hobbies include watercolor painting, playing guitar, and rock climbing. You can follow her work on hannahyang.com, or subscribe to her newsletter for publication updates.

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100 Words and Phrases to use in an Essay

Thomas Babb

Writing a compelling essay involves much more than simply putting your thoughts on paper. It demands the use of a precise vocabulary that not only enriches your content but also structures it in a way that is both logical and engaging. The right words and phrases can transform your essay from a basic assignment to an insightful and persuasive piece of writing.

This guide introduces you to 100 essential words and phrases recommended by expert English tutors that will help you convey your ideas more effectively. From adding information to expressing contrasts, and from illustrating examples to summarising your points, these carefully selected terms will enhance the clarity and impact of your essays.

Adding Information

When crafting an essay, integrating additional details effectively can enrich the written content and present a well-rounded argument. Here's how you can use each phrase under this category:

1. Furthermore - Use this to add weight to a point already mentioned, providing further evidence without redundancy.

2. Moreover - Similar to "furthermore," it introduces information that not only adds to the argument but enhances it.

3. Similarly - This indicates that the upcoming point shares notable characteristics with the previous one, aiding in drawing parallels.

4. Additionally - Introduces extra information or arguments that augment the current discussion.

5. Also - A simpler form of "additionally" that integrates extra facts smoothly.

6. Likewise - Indicates similarity and supports points by showing how they relate to each other in terms of qualities or actions.

7. In addition - This phrase is useful for contributing additional supportive details in a clear manner.

8. As well as - Functions to include another subject or item into your discussion without diverging from the main topic.

9. Not only... but also - A powerful structure for emphasizing not just one, but two important points, enhancing the depth of the argument.

10. Alongside - Implies that the information being added runs parallel to the already established facts, reinforcing them.

These phrases, when used correctly, help to build a strong, cohesive narrative flow in your essays, guiding the reader through a logical progression of ideas. For more on enhancing your writing with effective information addition, explore resources like Oxford Royale's Essay Writing Tips .

Introducing Examples

Introducing concrete examples is crucial in illustrating and supporting your claims effectively in an essay. Here’s how to use each word or phrase linked to this category:

11. For instance - Introduces a specific example that illuminates a broader point, helping to clarify complex ideas.

12. For example - Functions similarly to "for instance," offering a direct illustration to support or demonstrate a claim.

13. Such as - Prepares the reader for an example that is part of a larger category, typically used to list items or concepts.

14. Like - Introduces comparisons or examples in a casual and relatable manner.

15. Particularly - Highlights an example that is especially relevant to the argument, focusing attention on significant details.

16. In particular - Similar to "particularly," but often used to introduce a standout example that underscores a critical point.

17. Including - Serves to add examples to a list that may already be understood to be part of the topic being discussed.

18. Namely - Specifies and introduces exact and often multiple examples or details directly related to the point.

19. Chiefly - Points to the most important or significant examples or reasons in support of an argument.

20. Mainly - Indicates that the examples provided are the primary ones to consider, focusing on the most relevant instances.

Effective use of these phrases not only clarifies your points but also strengthens your arguments by making abstract concepts tangible. For detailed guidance on how to incorporate examples effectively in your essays, refer to academic resources like Harvard College Writing Center .

Demonstrating Contrast

IB English tutors suggest that Using contrast effectively in your essays can highlight differences that clarify your points or show alternative perspectives. Here’s how to use each phrase to demonstrate contrast:

21. Conversely - Signals a stark contrast to what has just been discussed, often introducing an opposing viewpoint.

22. However - A versatile tool to introduce a contradiction or counterpoint, breaking from the previous line of reasoning.

23. Nevertheless - Indicates persistence of a stated fact or opinion despite the contrasting information that follows.

24. On the other hand - Used to present a different perspective or an alternative to the argument previously mentioned.

25. Although - Begins a sentence where the main clause contrasts with the lesser significant, conditional clause.

26. Even though - Similar to "although," but often emphasizes a stronger degree of contrast between the conflicting elements.

27. But - A simple and direct way to introduce a contradiction to the preceding statement.

28. Yet - Suggests a contrast that is surprising or unexpected based on the previous statements.

29. Instead - Introduces an alternative action or thought in response to what has been previously discussed.

30. Rather - Used to correct or propose a different idea from what was initially stated or understood.

These phrases are essential for essays where comparing and contrasting ideas, arguments, or perspectives is necessary to deepen understanding or enhance the argument’s complexity. To learn more about using contrast in writing, visit educational resources such as Purdue Online Writing Lab .

Showing Cause and Effect

A-Level English tutors point out that effectively indicating cause and effect relationships in your essays helps clarify the reasons things happen and the consequences that follow. Here’s how to use each word or phrase to illustrate these relationships:

31. Consequently - Signals a direct result from the action or situation mentioned, highlighting the effect or outcome.

32. Therefore - Used to introduce a logical conclusion or result that follows from the reasoning presented earlier.

33. Thus - Indicates a conclusion or result that is a natural consequence of the facts previously mentioned.

34. Hence - Similar to "thus," it conveys a consequence that is a logical extension from the argument or data presented.

35. Accordingly - Shows that an action or decision is a logical response to the circumstances or facts discussed.

36. As a result - Directly points out the outcome or effect resulting from a specific cause or set of conditions.

37. This leads to - Introduces a sequence where one event or fact causes another, often used to chain multiple effects.

38. It follows that - Used when deducing a conclusion that logically arises from the preceding argument or evidence.

39. Leading to - Connects an initial action or decision directly with its consequences, highlighting a progression of events.

40. Contributing to - Indicates that the action or event adds to a situation, leading to a particular result or effect.

Mastering the use of these phrases can enhance the persuasive power of your writing by clearly linking actions and their consequences.

Adding Emphasis

Effectively emphasising key points in your essays can make your arguments more compelling and memorable. Here’s how to appropriately use each word or phrase to add emphasis:

41. Significantly - Indicates that something is of great importance or consequence, drawing the reader's attention to the gravity of the point being made.

42. Importantly - Prioritises the following information as crucial for understanding the argument or situation.

43. Indeed - Reinforces the truth of a statement, often used to confirm and agree with a previously mentioned point that might be surprising or emphatic.

44. Absolutely - A strong affirmation that leaves no doubt about the veracity or importance of the statement.

45. Definitely - Communicates certainty about a fact or opinion, strengthening the author's stance.

46. Certainly - Similar to "definitely," it expresses a high degree of assurance about the information being provided.

47. Undoubtedly - Suggests that there is no doubt about the statement, reinforcing its truth and relevance.

48. Without a doubt - A more emphatic form of "undoubtedly," eliminating any ambiguity about the point’s validity.

49. Particularly - Highlights specific information as especially significant within a broader context.

50. Especially - Used to indicate that something holds more significance than other elements, often emphasizing exceptional cases or instances.

Using these expressions strategically can enhance the persuasive impact of your writing by underscoring the most critical elements of your argument. To see more words and further explore techniques for adding emphasis in academic writing, visit resources like Cambridge Dictionary Blog .

Explaining and Clarifying

In academic essays, clearly explaining and clarifying complex ideas is essential for effective communication. IGCSE tutors and GCSE tutors suggest that each of these phrases can be used to enhance understanding:

51. That is to say - Used to introduce a rephrasing or elaboration on something that has just been stated.

52. In other words - Helps clarify a statement by expressing it in different terms for better understanding.

53. To put it another way - Similar to "in other words," it offers an alternative explanation or perspective to ensure clarity.

54. To clarify - Directly states the intent to make something clearer or to resolve any misunderstandings.

55. To explain - Introduces a detailed explanation aimed at enhancing understanding of a complex issue or point.

56. This means that - Connects a statement or idea to its implications or necessary interpretations.

57. This implies - Suggests a deeper, often unspoken consequence or meaning behind the given information.

58. Put simply - Introduces a simpler or more straightforward version of what has been discussed, making it more accessible.

59. In simpler terms - Another phrase to ease comprehension by breaking down complex concepts into basic language.

60. Thus - Concludes an explanation by summarizing the logical result or conclusion derived from the argument made.

Using these phrases effectively can help articulate intricate arguments in a more digestible format, aiding the reader’s understanding and engagement.

Summarising and Concluding

Expert IB tutors and A-Level tutors recommend that effectively summarising and concluding your essays is crucial for reinforcing your main points and providing a satisfying closure to any persuasive essay. Here’s how to use each word or phrase to effectively wrap up your discussions:

61. In conclusion - Signals the beginning of the final summary, clearly stating that the argument is drawing to a close.

62. To sum up - Introduces a concise summary of the key points discussed, often used before the final conclusion.

63. Ultimately - Indicates a final, overarching conclusion derived from the arguments and evidence presented.

64. Finally - Marks the introduction of the last point or an additional important point that concludes the discussion.

65. Lastly - Similar to "finally," it is used to introduce the final argument or point in the list.

66. To conclude - Directly states the intent to wrap up the essay, leading into a summary of the main findings.

67. In summary - Offers a recap of the essential elements discussed, reinforcing the thesis without introducing new information.

68. All things considered - Provides an overall conclusion, taking into account all the points made throughout the essay.

69. In the final analysis - Suggests a thorough consideration of all aspects discussed, leading to a concluding viewpoint.

70. After all - Implies that the conclusion takes into account all arguments and evidences previously presented.

Mastering the use of these concluding phrases ensures that your essay ends on a strong note, summarising key points and reinforcing your argument.

Discussing Similarities

Highlighting similarities effectively can enhance your argument by showing connections and parallels between ideas or topics. Here’s how to use each phrase to discuss similarities in your essays:

71. Similarly - Indicates that what follows is in alignment with the previous statement, reinforcing the connection between two points.

72. Likewise - Also used to show agreement or similarity, it confirms that the upcoming point supports the previous one in terms of characteristics or outcomes.

73. Just as - Introduces a comparison, suggesting that the situation or argument is equivalent to another.

74. As with - Used before mentioning another example, indicating that it shares properties or conditions with what has been discussed.

75. Equally - Implies that two or more elements are on the same level in terms of importance, quality, or characteristics.

76. Analogous to - Introduces a more formal comparison, indicating that one situation is comparable to another, often used in more scientific or technical discussions.

77. Comparable to - Suggests that two things can be likened to each other, providing a basis for comparison.

78. In the same way - Confirms that the action, process, or idea mirrors another, reinforcing the similarity.

79. Just like - A more casual phrase used to draw a direct comparison, making the similarity clear and understandable.

80. Similarly important - Asserts that the importance or relevance of two or more aspects is equal, emphasising their comparative significance.

Utilising these phrases allows you to effectively link concepts and arguments, showing how they complement or mirror each other, which can strengthen your overall thesis. For further reading on comparing and contrasting ideas effectively, the University of North Carolina Writing Center offers excellent resources.

Providing Alternatives

Offering alternatives in your essays can demonstrate critical thinking by showing different possibilities or approaches. Here’s how to use each word or phrase to introduce alternative ideas:

81. Alternatively - Introduces a different option or suggestion, providing another route or perspective.

82. On the contrary - Used to present a direct opposition to the previously mentioned idea, emphasising a contrasting point.

83. Rather - Suggests a preference for one choice over another, typically used to propose a different approach or opinion.

84. Conversely - Indicates a reversal of what has been previously stated, introducing an opposing viewpoint.

85. Instead - Specifies a substitute or replacement, clearly stating that one option is to be considered in place of another.

86. On the flip side - Introduces a contrasting scenario or viewpoint in a more informal manner, often used in conversational or less formal writing.

87. Rather than - Presents a comparison between two choices, highlighting a preference for one over the other.

88. As an alternative - Explicitly states the introduction of a different option or method, providing variety to the discussion.

89. Either...or - Sets up a choice between two distinct options, forcing a decision that impacts the argument’s direction.

90. Neither...nor - Used to deny two possibilities simultaneously, often restructuring the argument by excluding common options.

Incorporating these phrases allows you to explore and present multiple facets of an issue, enriching the essay’s depth and persuasiveness. For tips on effectively presenting alternative arguments, visit Harvard College Writing Center .

Expressing Conditions

Effectively expressing conditions in your essays can help outline scenarios where certain outcomes or arguments hold true. Here’s how to use each word or phrase to specify conditions:

91. If - Introduces a conditional statement, setting up a scenario where a specific result depends on a preceding condition.

92. Unless - Specifies an exception to a general rule or statement, indicating that a condition will change the outcome if not met.

93. Provided that - Sets a stipulation or requirement for a scenario to occur, emphasizing that certain conditions must be satisfied.

94. Assuming that - Suggests a hypothesis or a precondition that needs to be accepted before proceeding with an argument or conclusion.

95. In case - Prepares for a situation that might occur, setting up precautions or actions based on potential scenarios.

96. Even if - Acknowledges that even under certain circumstances, the primary argument or conclusion still holds.

97. Only if - Restricts the conditions under which a statement or outcome is valid, narrowing down the scenarios to very specific ones.

98. Whether - Presents alternatives, usually offering a choice between possibilities within the condition stated.

99. As long as - Indicates that a condition is contingent upon the duration or continuation of a specified situation.

100. Given that - Introduces a premise as a fact, assuming its truth for the sake of argument or to advance the discussion.

Final Thoughts

In crafting compelling essays, the strategic use of specific words and phrases can significantly enhance both the clarity and persuasiveness of your writing. By mastering the use of these 100 essential terms, students can effectively structure their essays, convey complex ideas, and articulate contrasts and comparisons with precision. Each category of phrases serves a unique purpose, from adding information to providing alternatives, which empowers writers to construct well-rounded arguments and engage their readers more deeply.

As you continue to refine your essay-writing skills, remember that the power of your arguments often lies in the details—the precise words and phrases you choose to express your thoughts. The power of a well crafted essay introduction and precise essay conclusion should also not be overlooked. By integrating these tools into your writing repertoire, you are better equipped to present clear, persuasive, and engaging essays that stand out in academic settings.

How can I improve my essay planning process?

Effective essay planning begins with a clear understanding of the essay question. Break down the question to identify key terms and the required response. Create an outline to organise your main points and supporting arguments logically. Consider using a mind map to visually plot connections between ideas, which can spur creative thinking. Allocate time for research, writing, and revision within your plan. Practising essay plans for different questions can enhance your ability to organise thoughts quickly and efficiently, a crucial skill especially under exam conditions.

What makes an essay introduction effective?

An effective introduction grabs the reader's attention, sets the tone, and provides a clear thesis statement. Start with a hook such as a provocative question, a startling statistic, or a compelling quote. Provide some background information to set the context, ensuring it's directly relevant to the essay's question. The thesis statement should be concise and outline your main argument or response to the question. This setup not only intrigues but also informs the reader about the essay's focus, establishing your understanding and control of the subject.

How do I choose the best evidence for my essay?

The best evidence is relevant, credible, and supports your thesis directly. Use primary sources where possible as they provide first-hand accounts that you can analyse directly. When primary sources are not available, rely on peer-reviewed journals and reputable publications. Diversify your sources to avoid over-reliance on a single type of evidence, and critically evaluate sources for bias and reliability. Properly integrating this evidence into your argument involves summarising, paraphrasing, and quoting sources while always linking back to your main argument.

How can I make my essay arguments more persuasive?

To make your arguments more persuasive, begin with a clear, assertive thesis statement. Structure your essay so each paragraph introduces a single point supporting your thesis. Use credible evidence and explain how this supports your argument. Address potential counterarguments to show the depth of your understanding and strengthen your position by demonstrating why your approach is preferable. Employing a confident but respectful tone and precise language also enhances the persuasiveness of your essay.

What are common pitfalls in essay writing to avoid?

Common pitfalls in essay writing include poor structure, weak thesis statements, and lack of coherence. Avoiding these starts with a robust plan and clear outline. Stay on topic by linking each paragraph back to your thesis statement. Avoid plagiarism by properly citing all sources. Overly complex sentence structures can confuse readers, so strive for clarity and conciseness. Finally, neglecting proofreading can leave typographical and grammatical errors, which diminish the quality of your work, so always review your essay thoroughly.

How do I manage time when writing an essay under exam conditions?

Time management in exams is crucial. Allocate about 10% of your time for planning, 80% for writing, and 10% for revising. Quickly outline your main points to structure your essay from the start. Write your body paragraphs first, as these contain the bulk of marks, then your introduction and conclusion. Keep an eye on the clock and pace yourself to ensure you have enough time to adequately develop your arguments and conclude effectively.

What are the best practices for editing and proofreading essays?

After writing your essay, take a break before you start editing to give you a fresh perspective. Read your essay aloud to catch awkward phrasing and sentences that don't flow logically. Check for consistency in tense and point of view throughout the essay. Use spell-check tools, but do not rely on them solely—manually check for homophones and commonly confused words. Consider having someone else read your work to catch errors you might have overlooked and to provide feedback on the clarity of your arguments.

How can I develop a strong thesis statement?

A strong thesis statement is clear, concise, and specific. It should express one main idea that is debatable, meaning there is potential for argument. Reflect on the essay prompt and decide on your position regarding the topic. Your thesis should guide the reader through your arguments and indicate the rationale behind your viewpoint. It serves as the backbone of your essay, so ensure it is robust and directly linked to the question asked.

How do I handle counterarguments in my essays?

Handling counterarguments effectively involves acknowledging them and then refuting them with stronger evidence or reasoning. Present them fairly and objectively, then use logical, fact-based arguments to demonstrate why your position remains valid. This not only shows critical thinking but also strengthens your original argument by showing you have considered multiple perspectives.

What is the role of a conclusion in an essay?

The conclusion of an essay should effectively summarise the main arguments discussed while reaffirming the thesis statement. It should synthesise the information presented rather than introducing new ideas. Provide a final perspective on the topic or suggest implications, further research or practical applications to leave the reader with something to ponder. A strong conclusion can reinforce your argument and leave a lasting impression on the reader.

How can I ensure my essay flows logically?

To ensure logical flow, each paragraph should seamlessly connect to the next with clear transitions. Focus on structuring paragraphs around one main idea that supports your thesis. Use transitional words and phrases to show the relationship between paragraphs. Consistency in your argumentation style and maintaining a clear focus throughout the essay will help keep your writing coherent.

What techniques help maintain reader interest throughout an essay?

To maintain reader interest, start with a strong hook in your introduction and use engaging content like relevant anecdotes, striking statistics, or interesting quotes throughout your essay. Vary your sentence structure and use active voice to keep the narrative dynamic. Also, ensure your topic is relevant and your arguments are presented with passion and clarity.

How can I integrate quotes effectively in essays?

To integrate quotes effectively, introduce the quote with a sentence that sets up its relevance to your argument, then follow the quote with analysis or interpretation that ties it back to your main point. Do not rely heavily on quotes to make your points; use them to support your arguments. Ensure that every quote is properly cited according to the required academic style guide.

What are the differences between descriptive and argumentative essays?

Descriptive essays focus on detailing a particular subject to give the reader a clear image or understanding of the topic through vivid language and sensory details. In contrast, argumentative essays aim to persuade the reader of a particular viewpoint or position using evidence and reasoning. The former is more about painting a picture, while the latter is about convincing through argument.

How can I use feedback to improve my essay writing skills?

Feedback is invaluable for improving essay writing skills. Actively seek out feedback from teachers, peers, or tutors and focus particularly on recurring themes in their comments. Reflect on this feedback critically and apply it to your future essays. Regularly revisiting and revising your work based on constructive criticism allows you to develop a more refined and effective writing style over time.

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Written by: Thomas Babb

Thomas is a PhD candidate at Oxford University. He served as an interviewer and the lead admissions test marker at Oxford, and teaches undergraduate students at Mansfield College and St Hilda’s College. He has ten years’ experience tutoring A-Level and GCSE students across a range of subjects.

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The Big List of Power Words: 189 Phrases That Influence, Persuade, and Convert

These phrases litter the huge variety of email newsletter boxes you'll come across online, and they generally serve the same purpose: Click here to give us your email address. They serve the same purpose, but do they say the same thing?

Can one word change the way you feel about a button?

In my experience, yes. I subscribe to the copywriting school of thought where every single word is absolutely worth stewing over and A/B testing because one single word can change everything . The difference between "joining" and "signing up" is the difference between fellowship and enlisting. A word changes the meaning, the mood, and the motivation.

To connect the dots then, you're probably wondering: If a single word makes that much difference, then what words should I be using? Which words and phrases convert?

The science of copywriting , the psychology of headlines , and the art of CTAs has revealed quite a number of go-to moves for marketers looking to gain a linguistic edge in their words and pitches. I've enjoyed saving several lists of these so-called power words and pulling them out to use in a pinch. I'm happy to share my lists with you. Do you have any power words that work magic for you? I'd love to hear about them in the comments.

Research reveals how a single word makes all the difference

You likely know inherently that specific words matter. You click on a headline because a single word strikes you. You click a signup button because a word creates an emotion.

The research behind this power of words is incredibly deep. Researchers have found that the word you use to describe a car accident ("contacted" vs. "smashed") paints the way eyewitnesses view the event. Another study found that simple stock names that are easier to pronounce lead to quicker gains post-IPO .

Perhaps my favorite study is one shared by Brian Clark of Copyblogger . Social psychologist Ellen Langer tested the power of a single word in an experiment where she asked to cut in line at a copy machine. She tried three different ways of asking:

"Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?" - 60% said OK

"Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I'm in a rush?" - 94% said OK

"Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make some copies?" - 93% said OK

I don't know about you, but I thought Langer's third request was rather elementary. Yet it didn't matter. The trigger word "because" was all she needed. The takeaway: When you want people to take action, always give a reason.

Neurologically, we have an instinctual reaction to words and language. Researchers have found that we are hardwired to associate sounds with images, even in words we do not comprehend. Here's a test for you, pulled from a study by Wolfgang Köhler. Which of the two shapes below is a maluma and which is a takete ?

The vast majority of respondents label the smooth, rounded image a maluma and the hard, jagged image a takete .

To go one step further into the power of words, you can look at Patrick Renvoise and Christopher Morin's book about neuromarketing (see Peep Laja's article at ConversionXL for a great analysis of the book ). Renvoise and Morin highlight the three different brains we have: the new brain, the middle brain, and the old brain.

The old brain is the part that controls decisions , and it also happens to be the most primitive. In this way, the words you use to market to the old brain will often be the most direct, simple, arresting, visual words you have.

You'll likely see a lot of these "old brain" words in the lists below.

The ultimate list of words and phrases that convert

A quick Google search can reveal pages of results for persuasive and powerful words. There's no trouble finding them; there's sometimes trouble applying them. The words you see below are split into a number of categories, along with some ideas on how I've used them in the past (and how you can use them, too).

The 5 most persuasive words in the English language

You've seen these words countless times before-and for good reason. The research behind these words has shown over and over that they work. Gregory Ciotti wrote about these five in a post for Copyblogger, showing exactly how each is vital for persuasive speech and copy. For instance, immediate words like "instantly" trigger mid-brain activity and feed our zest for quick gratification.

Where to try these words : Calls-to-action, headlines, email subject lines, headings, opening sentences and paragraphs

The 20 most influential words, via David Ogilvy

• Introducing
• Improvement
• Sensational
• Revolutionary

David Ogilvy is to advertising as Jimi Hendrix is to the electric guitar. His list of influential words you see above was first published in 1963, and many remain in vogue today.

Where to try these : Headlines, bullet points, subject lines

(Sidenote: For a fun blast from the past, courtesy of Ben Locker , here are a couple advertisements for power words that date back to 1961. A New York Times ad is on the left, a Washington Post ad is on the right. Ogilvy's 20 influential words came out two years after these.)

3 words to encourage community

• Become a member

These community phrases provide a sense of togetherness to the user; they feel like they're taking part in something larger than themselves. (You'll notice that we use the word "join" in our email newsletter form .)

Where to try these words : Email signups, trial offers, in-app messaging

10 cause-and-effect words and phrases

• Accordingly
• As a result
• Consequently
• For this reason

Author Darlene Price , the originator of this cause-and-effect list, has great insight into what makes these cause-and-effect phrases so useful: " Cause-and-effect words make your claims sound objective and rational rather than biased and subjective."

Where to try these: Closing paragraphs, transitions

12 phrases that imply exclusivity

• Members only
• Login required
• Membership now closed
• Ask for an invitation
• Apply to be one of our beta testers
• Exclusive offers
• Become an insider
• Be one of the few
• Get it before everybody else
• Be the first to hear about it
• Only available to subscribers

Garrett Moon of CoSchedule explains exclusivity as being like a club with membership restrictions. You want in because others are in. There's a bit of social pressure with exclusivity wording, and it helps drive decisions and actions for the user.

Where to try these : Signup forms, links, calls-to-action, subheads

9 phrases that imply scarcity

• Limited offer
• Supplies running out
• Get them while they last
• Sale ends soon
• Only 10 available
• Only 3 left
• Only available here
• Double the offer in the next hour only

The fear of missing out (often abbreviated as FOMO) is a common driver of action for marketers and advertisers. FOMO is essentially scarcity. By showing that an item or product is in limited supply , you hope to ratchet up demand.

Where to try these : Headings, promo copy

28 words and phrases that make you feel safe

• Best-selling
• Cancel Anytime
• No Obligation
• No Questions Asked
• No Strings Attached
• Recession-proof
• Try before You Buy
• Unconditional

Boost Blog Traffic's Jon Morrow collected a huge list of power words (his full list of 317 is well worth the read) and sorted the list by category. The above section is Morrow's grouping of words that engender feelings of safety. It's my favorite group from Morrow's list because these safety words have an amazing effect on the person reading: They create trust.

Where to try these: Payment forms, signup forms, testimonials

48 ubiquitous power words

• Immediately
• Hot Special
• Extraordinary
• Anniversary

Each employee on the circulation and email marketing teams at Interweave Press has these words printed and posted on their wall. The list, which was originally compiled Linda Ruth and Curtis Circulation Company , came from studying best-selling magazine covers, and Interweave's Bob Kaslik found that the words work equally well on magazines as they do in promo copy and in email subject lines.

Where to try these: Email subject lines, headlines, calls-to-action

9 word for shareable content

Neil Patel put together the infographic you see below , based on research on each of the four major social networks: Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn. His list represents the words that can get your content shared on social media. I've found success grouping some of these words with other power words as well.

Where to try these : Social media updates

Create and share your own list

If you're looking for inspiration (and a few unique power words to keep in your toolbox), try keeping track of the words that get you to convert. Take note of the words and phrases that grab your attention. Keep in mind why a headline stands out more than another. Notice which words grab you in a bullet list of benefits.

As you find new words, you can build a list in Evernote or another note-taking app; then be sure to reference them when you're in a pinch and looking for a powerful addition to your headline, copy, or post.

Do you have any favorite power words that have worked for you? Which ones from the list here might you be interested to try? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

P.S. If you liked this post, you might enjoy our Buffer Blog newsletter . Receive each new post delivered right to your inbox, plus our can't-miss weekly email of the Internet's best reads. Sign up here .

Image credits: CarbonNYC , Ben Locker , Conversion XL ,

The post The Big List of Power Words: 189 Phrases That Influence, Persuade, and Convert appeared first on Buffer Blog .

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50 Power Words To Use In Persuasive Writing

Certain words pack a powerful punch. When used correctly, they can grab attention, convey emotion, and motivate people to take action. Using power words in persuasive writing can be incredibly effective and help lead to conversions.

Some of the most commonly used power words include:

1. “You” – This word is a powerful way to get someone’s attention. It personalizes the message and makes the recipient feel like you are speaking directly to them.

2. “New” – This word is eye-catching and creates a sense of urgency. It implies that there is something fresh and exciting to be experienced.

3. “Free” – This word is a great way to get people’s attention. It conveys the message that no risk or cost is associated with taking advantage of what you are offering.

4. ” because ” – This phrase is a great way to justify or explain why someone should take action. It shows that you have thought through the situation and have a logical reason for why someone should comply with your request.

5. ” now ” – This word creates a sense of urgency and encourages people to take action immediately. It suggests they may miss out on a great opportunity if they delay.

6. ” instantly ” – This word is similar to “now” because it creates a sense of urgency. However, it takes things one step further by implying that the results will be immediate.

7. ” save ” – This word is often used to get people’s attention and encourage them to take action. It suggests they can reduce costs or time by taking advantage of your offer.

8. ” increase ” – This word is typically used to show how someone will benefit from taking action. It suggests that they will be able to improve or enhance something by doing what you are suggesting.

9. ” discover ” – This word piques curiosity and encourages people to want to learn more. It suggests that there is something new and exciting to be found by taking the recommended action.

10. ” create ” – It implies that the individual has the power to make something happen by taking the recommended course of action.

11. ” prevent ” – This word is a great way to get people’s attention and show them how your suggestion can help them avoid a negative outcome.

12. ” eliminate ” – Similar to “prevent,” this word also highlights how taking action can help people steer clear of undesirable consequences.

13. ” gain ” – This word is typically used to show how someone will benefit from taking action. It suggests that they will be able to acquire something desirable by doing what you are suggesting.

14. ” improve ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something better by doing what you are suggesting.

15. ” reduce ” – This word is a great way to get people’s attention and show them how your suggestion can help them save money or time.

16. ” simplify ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something easier by doing what you are suggesting.

17. ” accelerate ” -. It suggests that they will be able to achieve their goals more quickly by doing what you are suggesting.

18. ” award ” – This word suggests they can receive something desirable (such as recognition or a prize) by doing what you suggest.

19. ” authorize ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to give permission or approval by doing what you are suggesting.

20. ” boost ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something better or more effective by doing what you are suggesting.

21. ” complete ” suggests that they can finish or accomplish something by doing what you suggest.

22. ” double ” – This word is a great way to get people’s attention and show them how your suggestion can help them improve or enhance something.

23. ” enable ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something possible by doing what you are suggesting.

24. ” encourage ” -. It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something more likely or probable by doing what you are suggesting.

25. ” expand ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something larger or greater by doing what you are suggesting.

26. ” extend ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something longer or last longer by doing what you are suggesting.

27. ” facilitate ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something easier or more likely by doing what you are suggesting.

28. ” finance ” – This word is a great way to get people’s attention and show them how your suggestion can help them obtain money or funding.

29. ” generate ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to create or produce something by doing what you are suggesting.

30. ” implement ” suggests that they can put something into effect or make it happen

31. ” increase ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something greater or larger.

32. ” influence ” – This word is a great way to get people’s attention and show them how your suggestion can help them change or affect something.

33. ” launch ” -. It suggests that the individual has the ability to start or initiate something by doing what you are suggesting.

34. ” maximize ” – This word is a great way to get people’s attention and show them how your suggestion can help them make something as large or great as possible.

35. ” motivate ” – it suggests that the individual has the ability to encourage or inspire someone to do something by doing what you are suggesting.

36. ” optimize ” – This word is a great way to get people’s attention and show them how your suggestion can help them make something as effective or efficient as possible.

37. ” outline ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to describe or summarize something by doing what you are suggesting.

38. ” promote ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something more widely known or accepted by doing what you are suggesting.

39. ” provide ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something available or accessible by doing what you are suggesting.

40. ” recommend ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to suggest or endorse something by doing what you are suggesting.

41. ” reduce ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something smaller or less by doing what you are suggesting.

42. ” register ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to record or officially sign up for something by doing what you are suggesting.

43. ” reinforce ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something stronger or more effective by doing what you are suggesting.

44. ” represent ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to stand for or act on behalf of something by doing what you are suggesting.

45. ” simplify ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something easier or less complicated by doing what you are suggesting.

46. ” stimulate ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to encourage or motivate someone to do something by doing what you are suggesting.

47. ” strengthen ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something stronger or more effective by doing what you are suggesting.

48. ” support ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to provide assistance or help to something by doing what you are suggesting.

49. ” test ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to see if something works or not by doing what you are suggesting.

50. ” validate ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to confirm or verify something by doing what you are suggesting.

Using these power words in your content will help increase the persuasiveness of your writing and make it more likely that people will take action on what you are suggesting. So don’t hesitate to incorporate them into your next piece!

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Essay on The Power of Words

Students are often asked to write an essay on The Power of Words in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on The Power of Words

The power of words.

Words are more than just a means to communicate. They have the power to inspire, motivate, and change perspectives.

Words Inspire

Words motivate.

Motivational words can help us to overcome challenges. They give us the strength to keep going when times are tough.

Words Change Perspectives

Words can change our views. They can help us see things from a different angle, opening our minds to new ideas and possibilities.

250 Words Essay on The Power of Words

The influence of verbal expressions, words as catalysts of change.

Words can instigate revolutions and inspire social change. Historical figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi utilized the power of words to galvanize masses, leading to significant societal transformations. Equally, in literature, authors use words to challenge prevailing norms, stimulate thought, and foster empathy.

The Destructive Power of Words

Conversely, words can also be destructive. They can perpetuate stereotypes, incite hatred, and trigger conflict. Words used irresponsibly, without consideration for their potential impact, can cause irreversible damage.

Words in the Digital Age

In the digital age, the power of words is amplified. Social media platforms provide a global stage where words can spread rapidly, influencing millions within seconds. This underscores the need for responsible communication to prevent the spread of misinformation and hate speech.

In conclusion, the power of words is undeniable. They shape our perceptions, influence our actions, and define our society. As such, we must wield them responsibly, understanding that our words can either build bridges or erect barriers. The choice is ours.

500 Words Essay on The Power of Words

The essence of words.

Words, the basic building blocks of communication, are more than mere symbols or sounds. They carry immense power, shaping our thoughts, actions, and the world around us. They can build bridges or erect walls, heal wounds or inflict pain, inspire revolutions or maintain status quo.

The Constructive Power of Words

The power of words in interpersonal relationships.

In interpersonal relationships, words can nurture bonds, express love, and foster understanding. A well-chosen word can mend a broken relationship, while a harsh one can irreparably damage it. Words have the power to validate someone’s feelings, making them feel seen, heard, and understood.

However, the power of words is not always positive. Words can also destroy. They can breed hatred, instigate violence, and perpetuate stereotypes. Hate speech, for instance, uses words to marginalize, intimidate, and dehumanize certain groups, leading to social division and conflict.

The Power of Words in Politics and Society

The responsibility that comes with the power of words, conclusion: the enduring power of words.

In conclusion, words are not just passive carriers of meaning. They are active agents in shaping our reality. They have the power to create and destroy, to heal and hurt, to enlighten and deceive. As wielders of this power, we have a responsibility to use words wisely and ethically. The power of words is a testament to the power of human communication and the profound impact it can have on our individual lives and society at large.

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

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85 Heartfelt "Thank You" Messages and Words of Appreciation

A handwritten note is so much more meaningful than a generic store-bought card.

Thank you messages for gifts

Thank you messages for wedding presents, birthday thank you messages, graduation thank you messages, thank you messages for help given.

Saying "thank you" in person is a great way to show your appreciation, but taking the time to sit down and write a thoughtful handwritten "thank you" note can express your gratitude in a more meaningful way.

While the etiquette is clear on the necessity of thank you cards, what goes inside can be a bit trickier. Sure, you can always buy a pre-written card at any store, with the sentiment still being very sweet, but a personalized "thank you" message really goes the extra mile to show someone you cherish their effort, time and ultimately, their sweet gesture.

What is the best thank you message?

While the best message to write in any kind of card is always a personalized one, we all need a little inspiration sometimes. Start with some of these sentiments, and then add an element that makes it your own.

Maybe that's a memory you share from the party where you received a gift, an inside joke from a vacation you went on together, or how you plan to use a monetary gift. Whatever it is, don't forget to seal it with love. And while it's best to send thank-you cards as soon as you can after a birthday, wedding, special event or meaningful favor, there's no expiration date on gratitude. Whenever you get to it, they'll appreciate the thought.

• I couldn't have picked out a better gift for myself if I tried.
• I am touched you remembered me.
• Your gift really made me smile.
• I'll think of you every time I use your gift.
• Every time I look at your gift, I'll think of our friendship.
• You didn't have to, but I'm sure glad you did!
• Your presence is my present, but I love this one too. Thank you!
• Thank you for the meaningful present.
• How did you know your gift was just what I needed?
• Receiving your thoughtful present really made my day.
• You know me so well! Thanks for the gift.
• You're the best gift I could ask for, but this one is pretty great too.
• I'll cherish your present always, just like I will our relationship.
• You hit it out of the park again, slugger!
• Finding your present in my mailbox meant so much. Thanks!
• Grateful AF.
• You're so sweet, and so is this gift.

• Thank you for celebrating this milestone with us.
• We're so appreciative to have friends/family like you!
• We can't wait to use [insert gift] in our lives together.
• We appreciate the miles traveled to attend our celebration, and can't thank you enough for being here. It means the world to us.
• We appreciate you coming to celebrate with us.
• Thank you for being a part of our special day.
• Our wedding was so special, and your presence made it even better.
• Thank you for helping us start our life together.
• Your generosity is only outdone by your kindness. Thank you.
• We are so touched by your generous gift.
• We're blessed to have friends like you who are really family.
• We knew you were a great friend, but we didn't realize you were a dancing queen!
• Thank you for making the trip to celebrate our wedding. We appreciate it.
• It means so much that you welcomed me into the family with open arms. Thank you.
• Your marriage is truly #goals for us! Thanks for being such a great example.
• We appreciate all of the time and effort you put in to make our wedding such a success.
• Thank you for being a bridesmaid — hope I wasn't too much of a bridezilla!
• I'd have been lost up there without you. Thanks for being my groomsman.
• Thanks for being you so we could be us.

• Thank you for thinking of me on my special day.
• Another year older, another year wiser, another year I'm so grateful for you.
• Thank you for making my birthday so special!
• Thank you for making me feel so loved on my birthday!
• Getting older is a pleasure with you by my side.
• I'm overwhelmed with love and gratitude for all the birthday wishes. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
• You really bring the party! Thanks for dancing the night away.
• Thanks for the best birthday gift ever — of always being older than me.
• Waking up to your birthday text made my whole day.
• Your birthday messages made me feel like royalty. Thanks!
• People like you make every year special.
• I'm so blessed we could spend my special day together. Thanks for being there.
• It means the world that you took the time out of your busy schedule to spend some time with me. Thank you!
• Thanks for being one of the people who knew me when (and for sticking around all these years!)
• You made what can be a tough day so much lighter. Thank you.
• If I have to get older, at least I can spend more time with people like you.

• I'm thankful to have you in my corner as I take this next step.
• I wouldn't be where I am without your help along the way.
• Thank you for being such a great friend and mentor to me. It means a lot.
• Thanks for the thoughtful gift to help start me on my next phase of life.
• I wouldn't have made it this far without you. Thank you for your support.
• It means so much that you were there to celebrate my graduation.
• Seeing you in the crowd made graduating that much sweeter. Thanks for being there!
• You've always been one of my biggest cheerleaders. Thank you for your support.
• I believe in myself because you believed in me first. Thank you.
• Thanks for celebrating this achievement with me.
• Thank you for being the teacher who made me want to come to class.
• I never thought I'd like math/science/English/gym, but you made it fun. Thanks for all you do!
• It's teachers like you who make school a blast. Thanks for all of your hard work for students like me!
• Thank you for being there as I start my next chapter.
• Going off to college is a big step, but you helped me feel ready.
• Thanks for always believing in me.
• It's such a gift that you've always been there for my milestones, and especially this one.

• I am so grateful for your generosity and willingness to lend a hand. You've made a positive impact on my life.
• I don't know where we'd be without you. Thank you for your help.
• Thank you for being my rock.
• You're my port in a storm. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
• Thanks for always putting up with me. It means more than you know.
• You showed up just when I needed a shoulder to lean on, and it means so much to me.
• There aren't enough words to express what your support means.
• Thank you for always being the person I can count on.
• I am so blessed to have you in my life!
• Thank you for always being the first to show up and the last to leave.
• You're the peanut butter to my jelly.
• You always lift me up when I'm down.
• Thank you for coming through on such short notice. You're a lifesaver.
• I love you and am so thankful for you.
• How can I ever thank you enough? This is a start.
• Everything turned out perfectly, thanks to your help.

Lizz (she/her) is a senior editor at Good Housekeeping , where she runs the GH Book Club, edits essays and long-form features and writes about pets, books and lifestyle topics. A journalist for almost two decades, she is the author of Biography of a Body and Buffalo Steel. She also teaches journalism as an adjunct professor at New York University's School of Professional Studies and creative nonfiction at the Muse Writing Center, and coaches with the New York Writing Room. 

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The Insight: In Dustborn, Words Used As Weapons Are Super-Powerful!

By Khloe Wilkerson

In Dustborn , the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” is turned upside down, taking players into a future where language is not just communication but a formidable force of change. Developed by Red Thread Games, this single-player action-adventure game redefines how we perceive words. In Dustborn , communication becomes a weapon, a shield, and a means of survival in a fractured, dystopian society.

Set in a reimagined America called the “The Republic,” the game introduces players to Pax, an exile with a unique ability to weaponize language. Pax’s mission is to deliver a crucial package from Pacifica to Nova Scotia, but the journey is filled with obstacles. She travels through a visually stunning, high-tech world aboard a robot-driven tour bus, moving through six distinct regions controlled by the authoritarian Justice. Each area presents its challenges, and Pax must not only complete her delivery but also forge alliances, manage relationships, and face various threats in a world where words have immense power. She and her crew are a diverse group of characters, each possessing a unique trait or power that contributes to the team as a whole.

What sets Dustborn apart is its innovative use of language. In the game, words are not just for talking; they are powerful tools that can shape the environment and influence characters. For instance, Pax can use the ‘Hoax’ Vox with the help of Eli to generate illusions, misleading enemies and creating strategic advantages. In one encounter, the ‘Hoax’ was used to make an enemy believe there was a huge monster ready to kill them, allowing Pax to bypass a heavily guarded checkpoint. This mechanic adds a strategic layer to the gameplay, as players need to master different types of language to tackle enemies and navigate situations effectively. 

Contrary, to its positive aspects, Dustborn also explores the darker side of communication. The game features “Echoes,” which are entities that represent the harmful use of words. For instance, echoes can create fear and confusion among characters, affecting their behavior and interactions. This design choice highlights how language can be twisted to control and oppress, adding depth to the game’s story and reflecting real-world issues of manipulation and censorship.

Character development stands out in Dustborn by Pax evolving as she builds relationships. Pax’s interactions with Eli, who grapples with his traumatic past, deepen the narrative. For example, Eli’s emotional struggle growing up without a family impacts his decisions, affecting how Pax can rely on him in crucial moments. These personal stakes enrich the storytelling and character development. Another character, Ophelia, helps Pax navigate the political landscape of the regions they traverse, providing crucial insights and support. The dynamic interactions between characters, influenced by Pax’s ability to use language, enhance the story and make the game’s world feel more alive.

The visual design of Dustborn is impressive, blending advanced and retro-futuristic elements to create an immersive world. The environments range from sprawling sunlit deserts with shimmering mirages to bustling, neon-lit urban areas teeming with life. The desert scenes utilize dynamic lighting and weather effects to evoke a sense of harshness, while the urban areas feature intricate architectural designs and vivid color schemes that immerse players in the game’s modern setting. The fluid combat sequences and the robot-driven tour bus add to the game’s immersive quality, allowing everything to come together nicely.

The sound design in Dustborn is meticulously crafted. For example, the clash of weapons during combat is accompanied by distinct, sharp effects that enhance the intensity. Ambient sounds, such as the hum of the robot-driven bus or the distant echoes in the desert, contribute to a deeply authentic experience. 

Dustborn echoes Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 book, exploring censorship and the power of language. Just as Bradbury’s novel critiques a society that burns books to suppress dissent, Dustborn depicts a world where controlling language and information drive the struggle for resistance and freedom.

Playing Dustborn was a gripping experience. The plot twists and character development kept me fully engaged. The game’s difficulty is generally well-balanced with a respawn system that minimizes frustration during challenging battles. However, some players might find the respawn system too forgiving, potentially reducing the sense of accomplishment. I would recommend Dustborn for players who enjoy story-driven games with a strategic twist. However, if you prefer nonstop action, the game’s slower pace might not be ideal. The game is quite guided, with clear prompts for tasks. While this helps keep you on track, it might feel restrictive if you prefer more freedom in exploring and advancing the story. Nevertheless, for players who value a well-crafted narrative and meaningful interactions, Dustborn offers a unique and engaging adventure.

In summary, Dustborn is a standout title for its inventive use of language, stunning visuals, and deep narrative. It encourages players to think about the impact of their words and actions, making it more than just a game—it’s a reflection on the power of communication. With its blend of strategic gameplay, immersive world-building, and thought-provoking themes, Dustborn delivers an exceptional and memorable gaming experience that challenges players to consider the role of language in shaping our world.

Bronx native Khloe Wilkerson is our youngest intern. She recently won a college scholarship and completed our journalism and writing class at Mott Hall III   twice in a row . 

Over 95% of the reviews and essays on NYGameCritics.com are created by our paid student interns and young mentors who have taken our classes. Donations help support our incredible student writers.

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Powers, Parts and Wholes: Essays on the Mereology of Powers

Christopher J. Austin, Anna Marmodoro, and Andrea Roselli (eds.), Powers, Parts and Wholes: Essays on the Mereology of Powers , Routledge, 2023, 260pp., $180.00 (hbk), ISBN 9781032288567.

Reviewed by Andrew L. McFarland, LaGuardia Community College, CUNY

Over the last several decades conversations about dispositions (or powers) have been commonplace among philosophers. [1] According to dispositionalists, properties like fragility are said to have triggers (or stimulus conditions)—like dropping a glass onto the floor—that bring about their manifestations, e.g., breaking, cracking, shattering, etc. What’s more, triggers and manifestations are often claimed to play some sort of individuating role with respect to powers. These considerations raise a philosophical question. Are powers— fragility , flammability , solubility , and the like—ontologically simple or complex? If they are complex, can we understand them compositionally? For example, is breaking a part of the power of fragility ? Or is talk of parthood merely an instance of speaking with the vulgar? This thought-provoking collection of twelve essays edited by Christopher J. Austin, Anna Marmodoro, and Andrea Roselli, addresses the ontological complexity of dispositions. The editors partition the essays into three sections: Part 1, “Parts of Powers” discusses part-whole relations “within a power”; Part 2, “Composition of Powers”, discusses mereological relations “among powers”; Part 3, “Power Mereology in Science” is devoted to issues in the philosophy of science. For this review I will try to summarize some main takeaways from each essay and offer critical and constructive remarks where appropriate.

In their introduction, the editors motivate the discussion with the claim that the literature on powers and dispositions often assumes that powers are simple, fundamental entities. Further, they claim that multi-track accounts—accounts which say that powers are individuated by more than one type of stimulus/manifestation—only “organize the complex manifestation of certain powers into ‘tracks’ but do not explain how this complex manifestation derives from the power” (1). Austin expands on this criticism later in Ch. 3. Multi-tracking accounts only tell us about the “counterfactuals assigned to a single power” (63). This can tell us about the “truthmaking relations that power is involved in”, but “these relations are incapable of providing meaningful information about the nature of powers” (63). Thus, these accounts treat powers as “little more than ‘black boxes’ whose extrinsic complexity stems from a we-know-not-what intrinsic metaphysical foundation” (64).

The first two contributions, Aaron Cotnoir’s chapter, “Carving up the Network of Powers” (Ch. 1), and the second essay from Robert Koons, “Parts and Grounds of Powers” (Ch. 2), are by far the most formal and systematic of the essays.

Cotnoir develops a graph-theoretic network of powers that can—following Plato’s metaphor—be carved according to natural joints, and he considers three methods for carving this network: subcollection , clustering , and coordination . Meanwhile, Koons develops an approach on behalf of the “extreme nominalist” (42), which builds powers out of equivalence classes of conditional facts, and invokes a sui generis conditional that expresses “the fact that if a certain n- tuple of thing were in a certain condition A , some joint power of those things would manifest itself in outcome B ” (42). Both Cotnoir’s and Koons’ systems offer ways to assess the “naturalness” of the resulting complexes: Cotnoir suggests that “unnaturalness” can be measured by the degree of crosscutting between clusters, while Koons suggests a criterion for determining when entities are of the same natural kind.

In Ch. 3, “Complex Powers: Making Many One”, Christopher Austin identifies two ways in which powers can be regarded as complex: “polygeny”—the idea that for a power there can be “many distinct inputs which causally contribute toward the coming about of its manifestation” (61)—and “pleiotrophy”, “which occurs when a single power has many distinct manifestations which may produce from the obtaining of one or more distinct stimuli” (62). An account of the complexity of powers, Austin argues, must accommodate these varieties of complexity in telling a metaphysical story about when many powers become one. After critiquing the metaphysical inadequacy of multi-tracking accounts, he goes on to consider two strategies, essentialist and emergentist accounts, but concludes ultimately that neither of these approaches is satisfactory. However, the main lesson seems to be that an account of the unity of complex powers needs to fall somewhere between accepting mereological fusions and emergence.

In Ch. 4, “Powers as Mereological Lawmakers”, Michael Traynor takes a bottom-up approach about mereological laws. Traynor begins with two Inclusion Principles, along with remarks by George Molnar (2003), to generate an argument that powers can be parts of objects. He goes on to argue that “powers give rise to mereological laws” and considers implications for this claim with respect to debates about whether mereological laws (paralleling similar arguments about laws of nature) are metaphysically necessary or contingent.

Nicky Kroll’s essay, “Determinable Dispositions” (Ch. 5) forgoes a mereological approach altogether and instead assesses the complexity of dispositions in terms of the determinate / determinable relation. Kroll cites Quine’s (1956) observation that desires can be non-specific and goes on to argue that dispositions can be non-specific as well. He goes on to draw three lessons: (i) that determinable dispositions are distinct from multi-track dispositions; (ii) many alleged multi-track dispositions—fragility, irascibility, knowing French—are in fact determinable dispositions; (iii) standard arguments for the claim that a disposition is multi-track turn out to be invalid.

In Ch. 6, Sophie Allen distinguishes between cases of direct composition —the part and the whole are instantiated by the same individual—and cases of indirect composition —cases where an individual is a proper part of another. Allen gives several quite helpful examples, e.g., “The power to spring is part of the power to jump 7.5m.” (113), to make a compelling case that direct composition of powers takes place. However, she gives relatively short shrift to her criticisms of indirect composition. For example, one might appeal to Kathrin Koslicki (2008), whose hylomorphic mereology posits structural proper parts, as a way of \ responding to Allen’s worry about indirect composition violating extensionality.

In Ch. 7, Vera Hoffmann-Kolss explores the non-mereological issue of the logical complexity (i.e., disjunctive) of variables for interventionist models of causation. She argues that interventionist models should make use of disjunctive variables, like “1 if Person P consumes apples or apple products or does not take a pain killer; 0 otherwise”, but that these conflict with proposed definitions “intervention”. However, she claims that these problems can be addressed if interventionists take the values of variables to be properties that “confer conditional causal powers on their bearers” à la Sydney Shoemaker (1980).

In Ch. 8 Xi-Yang Guo and Matthew Tugby sketch and defend an account of collective instantiation analogous to plural instantiation. Key to their argument is the idea of distributive occurrences of predication and instantiation: G occurs distributively where “ the Fs are G is equivalent to each F is G ” (148). For example, “The students in my class are engaged” might distribute to “Each student in my class is engaged”. By contrast, a predicate like “make a star pattern” in “The lights make a star pattern” does not distribute, since the claim is not equivalent to “Each light makes a star pattern”. Thus, according to Guo and Tugby, “make a star pattern” is a non-distributive, collective predicate. However, I’m not so sure that denying distribution entails collectivity. Take examples of generics or bare plurals. “Mosquitos carry yellow fever” does not distribute to “Each mosquito carries yellow fever”. But it also seems incorrect to say that “carries yellow fever” is collectively predicated of the class of all mosquitos since only a couple of species are associated with carrying the disease. Collective predication/instantiation seems to require more than just being non-distributive.

Joaquim Giannotti’s Ch. 9 considers a special composition question about powers (an analogue to the special composition question for material objects), and argues that a modified version of Marmodoro’s (2017) answer is the best way to achieve a restricted (i.e., neither a nihilist nor a universalist) answer to when powers compose. Gianotti goes on to argue that this refined “Marmodoro Condition”, combined with other premises from quantum theory, yields the conclusion that there is an entity he calls the “powerful cosmos”, an object “composed of all the compossible fundamental powers instantiated across the universe” (168).

In Ch. 10 Michele Paolini Paoletti argues for the compatibility of a “naïve view of powers” and the idea that powers compose. According to Paoletti, the “naïve” view holds that there is a “strict, one-to-one correspondence between powers, their bearers, and their manifestations and activations, on the one hand, and the causes, effects, and causal processes on the other” (185). To close out the collection, the third and final section, Part 3, begins with Matteo Morganti’s (Ch. 11) essay, which explores a “Simple Theory” of property composition, where complex properties are “nothing over and above” their constituents, and argues that one can understand the properties of quantum entangled systems by invoking metaphysical coherentism. Simone Gozzano (Ch. 12) completes the collection by considering whether phenomenal states, like tasting white wine, can be considered complex dispositional properties composed of constituents like the experience of the taste of hay, or the taste of green apple. These are further decomposable into protophenomenal atoms, resulting in a picture that fits into current discussions about Russellian monism and panpsychism.

As one can see the essays display at times very different approaches to the question of the complexity of powers. As a result, the attempt to group certain essays into Parts 1, 2, and 3 is a little strained at times. For instance, Cotnoir’s piece on carving a network of powers seemed more appropriate for Part 2 about the relations between powers, while Allen’s might be a better fit for Part 1 on part-whole relations within a power. In a similar vein, it’s clear that not every essay in the collection is about the mereology of powers—notably Kroll approaches complex powers in terms of the determinable/determinate distinction, Hoffmann-Kolss is concerned with the logical complexity of variables for interventionism, Guo and Tugby sketch an account of collective instantiation, and Morganti explicitly says he’s not concerned with a mereological notion of composition and instead focuses on the factorizability of probabilities for entangled quantum systems. In this respect, the book’s subtitle, “Essays on the Mereology of Powers” is a bit of a misnomer; perhaps “Essays on the Metaphysical Complexity of Powers” would have been more appropriate. After all, understanding the ontological complexity of powers needn’t only be cashed out mereologically, and a research question like this may benefit from looking at the theoretical landscape in several divergent ways.

Overall, there’s much of interest to be gleaned from this book. It covers a wide range of approaches to the question of the metaphysical complexity of powers, both mereological and non-mereological alike. Despite some deviation from the editors’ stated goal of offering a mereological approach to the complexity of powers, I think the book can be framed as having a different and broader aim: to examine the ontological complexity of powers by offering a more metaphysically robust story, one that goes beyond merely saying that powers are individuated by their stimuli or manifestations. With this aim in mind, I think the book shows that there’s quite a bit of potentially fruitful philosophical ground here left to explore.

Koslicki, K. (2008). The Structure of Objects . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Marmodoro, A. (2017). “Power Mereology: Structural Powers Versus Substantial Powers” in

Philosophical and Scientific Perspectives on Downward Causation , Eds. M. Paolini Paoletti, F. Orilia, 110–129. New York: Routledge.

Molnar, G. (2003). Powers: A Study in Metaphysics . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Quine, W.V. (1956). “Quantifiers and Propositional Attitudes”. Journal of Philosophy , 53 (5), 177–187.

Shoemaker, S. (1980). “Causality and Properties” in Time and Cause: Essays Presented to

Richard Taylor , Ed. P. Van Inwagen, Reidel: 109–136.

[1] I will follow the convention set by the editors and several contributors by using “power” and “disposition” interchangeably.

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Recipe for roar: how to embrace darkness and make the most of astrology’s lion’s gate portal.

Coming in hot with the heart medicine and the mane shaking, the mythic Lion’s Gate Portal opens on August 8th, 2024, a date observed by ancients, astrologers and numerologists alike.

The portal opens its feline jaws from July 28th – August 12th, but its powers are thought to peak on the 8th.

The Lion’s Gate refers to the annual alignment between the sun in Leo and Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, also known as Alpha Canis Majoris or Dog Star.

How to prepare for the Lion’s Gate Portal

Rachel Stavis , world-renowned exorcist and best-selling author of  Sister of Darkness: The Chronicles of a Modern Exorcist,  maintains that to make the most of this magical time, we have to honor, express and integrate.

“Forget that peace, love, and light bull—t, it’s time to be powerful, centered, and whole!” Rachel Stavis

Stavis tells The Post, “On the other side of the Lion’s Gate Portal are dreams coming to fruition, change and growth for the positive, and all of us stepping into our power – IF we deal with something we’ve been avoiding: ourselves.”

Ancient Egyptians venerated Sirius’s star power as the personification of the agricultural goddess Sopdet and associated the star’s heliacal rising with the annual flooding of the Nile River and the onset of a new year.

In this context, Sopdet can be seen as an integration of light and dark, endings and beginnings, the flood before the flourish, so to speak.

How to manifest during the Lion’s Gate Portal

View this post on Instagram A post shared by RH Stavis (@rhstavis)

Similarly, Stavis explains that to reap the bounty of this portal, we must first face the dark, “There are two major spiritual aspects of ourselves: our light and our darkness. Many people actively work to avoid their darkness: they ignore it, stuff it down, or bypass that part of themselves. But this is to their own detriment because we can’t move forward—even in abundance—without seeing, understanding, and integrating our WHOLE being.”

How can we determine if we are, in fact, in our power?

Stavis notes that if you:

• Have outbursts over minimal things
• Are not speaking up for yourself or not speaking your truth
• Are people pleasing
• Need external validation
• Feel overrun by your emotions

You are likely outside of your power. But fear not, my babies, you can embolden yourself, move forward, roar mightily, and reap the rewards of this season’s Lion’s Gate.

Read on for Stavis’s recommendations for how to reclaim and gain.

Purge with a Lion’s Gate journal prompt

Stavis has a tall order for those of us feeling small: “Write down everything negative you’ve ever thought or said about yourself. I know it’s rough! But this is the deep work required for real change. See those lies! Ask yourself: If I were in my power, what would I REALLY think?”

This exercise is even more necessary as we are in the midst of a Mercury retrograde cycle , during which we are asked to revisit and revise storylines that limit or defeat us. There is no finer time than now, folks.

To harness the power of this portal, we can listen to and act in tune with our regal rage.

Stavis explains, “Many spiritual gurus have taught people that it is ‘low frequency’ to have rage and that our darkness must be transmuted. But this is not accurate. Our rage often forces us to step up, to speak out, and to move into our power. All of this is actually high-frequency!” 

To honor the high frequency and divine feminine majesty of our rage, Stavis says we must scream to get closer to the source, “Find somewhere safe (a pillow, the shower, the car) and SCREAM! It can be words, phrases, or just noise. Scream until you’re a bit hoarse, and you’ll finally start to notice the feelings underneath that anger.” 

Protect yourself

With retrograde afoot and portals open wide, it’s a jungle out there, folks.

Stavis recommends protecting yourself and your space from unwanted interference and low frequencies with a little salt cure, “Use black salt along the perimeter of your home and outside spaces for a little protective boost. Sprinkle along the areas to create an energetic, safe space.” 

Thank your darkness

Release is real work, folks, and Stavis imparts that acknowledging and offering thanks to the dark side is part of that work.

“Understand that these shadow aspects of yourself have done a lot of heavy lifting! They’ve protected you, helped you, and comforted you in the past – even if that has changed now. Give gratitude where it belongs, and thank your darkness for getting you this far. Light a white candle and say whatever you’re feeling in the moment about your shadow self.”

Embrace your newfound power

Stavis says, “Forget that peace, love, and light bull—t, it’s time to be powerful, centered, and whole! Let go of what you think spirituality ‘should” look like, and embrace all that it is.”

To root down and level up, Stavis advises, “Find a comfortable place to sit outside. Take three grounding breaths. When you feel ready, ask Spirit to integrate all parts of yourself without any bias. Allow yourself to feel this happening (rushes of the spine, hot and cold in places, tingling sensations throughout the body, etc). When you feel the ritual is complete, thank yourself for allowing it to happen.”

Benefits of healing and progressing during the Lion’s Gate

Stavis maintains that when you’ve done the work to face, integrate, ask, and allow, you’ll notice the following benefits:

• You have fewer outbursts because you have self-ownership
• You speak up when you must
• You need nothing from others but feel gratitude when you receive
• You understand your emotions and have no fear of integrating them

Operating from this place of fullness will ensure that the energy of the Lion’s Gate can be received in full and directed towards richness of every kind!

As Stavis explains, “This year’s wild, fearless, powerful energy is asking you to embody these aspects. Can you be wild, fearless, and powerful? If so, the sky’s the limit this fall! Nothing will be able to stop you, and the joy you will feel is only the beginning!”

Meow.  

Astrology 101: Your guide to the star

• The 12 zodiac signs
• What are the astrology houses
• Here’s what each planet represents
• Sun, moon, and rising signs: Get to know your Big 3

Astrologer  Reda Wigle  researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture, and personal experience.

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