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What are “Vivid Verbs,” And How They Lead to Stronger Writing

by Fija Callaghan

Do you ever go over a rough draft and wonder why it’s not quite landing as strongly as you’d hoped? Maybe the characterization is solid and the plot points are all artfully arranged, but it’s just not hitting the desired emotional impact. It might be that your prose is a victim of weak verbs , which are keeping it from being the very best it can be.

As you may remember from primary school, verbs are carriers of action—and action is the carrier of story. That means finding the right descriptive verb for the right moment can go a long way when it comes to elevating your work.

Let’s look at what it means to use vivid verbs in writing, how to get rid of some of the more tedious common verbs in your work, and some examples of vivid verbs that you can shamelessly pilfer to take your story to the next level.

What are vivid verbs?

“Vivid verbs” are active words that convey a clear, concise, and evocative action to the reader, and that are strong enough to stand alone without additional adverbs or description. For example, “shuffle” and “saunter” are two vivid verbs that describe the act of walking, each with different connotations and imagery, that we can use instead of saying “walked slowly” or “walked lazily.”

Another example might be variations of the word “eat.” If you have a character eating in a scene, that can mean a lot of different things depending on who the character is and what sort of preconceptions the reader is carrying with them. Instead of “eat” you could say nibble, inhale, graze, taste, or devour. Each of these vivid verbs conveys something different about both the character and the situation.

Why are vivid verbs useful for writers?

In creative writing, verbs are what keep the story moving. Characters doing, wanting, going, destroying, creating. It’s easy to fall back on broad, boring verbs that paint the characters’ actions in wide, clunky strokes; however, that generality holds your reader at a distance from your story.

By finding just the right word to encompass what’s happening on the page, you create a vivid picture that pulls the reader into the action. The more specific you can be, the more your story will start to come alive. That’s why landing on the perfect vivid verb can lift a basic sentence or paragraph into something transcendent.

The same applies to all kinds of writing, even if you’re not crafting fictional characters. If you’re writing poetry, memoir, persuasive essays, or even professional emails (the modern persuasive essay), using powerful verbs will help your words resonate in the reader’ mind.

The ultimate list of vivid verbs

Ready to incorporate some more exciting verbs into your work (and level up your writing skills)? Here are some strong action verbs to get you started.

Vivid verbs for movement

perambulate

Vivid verbs for communicating

Vivid verbs for acknowledgment

accommodate

Vivid verbs for emotions

Vivid verbs for food and drink

Vivid verbs for creation.

manufacture

Vivid verbs for sound

Tips for finding the right vivid verbs

Now you have an entire arsenal of strong verbs at your fingertips to bring your writing to life! But how do you choose exactly the right active verb for the right moment?

The first step is to simply nurture your vocabulary (hint: I wrote “expand” and “grow” your vocabulary before I settled on “nurture” as exactly what I was trying to say). Make friends with your thesaurus. Words that may seem like synonyms at first will reveal slightly different meanings, like adjacent colors on a color wheel: they may both be white , but this one says “cottage garden” while this other one says “business class.”

Sometimes, finding a more descriptive verb might come through your revision process. When you’re looking back over your first draft, keep an eye out for weak, passive verbs that aren’t doing much to support the narrative. These will be generalizations like “walk,” “go,” “make,” “talk,” “eat,” “like,” “dislike,” and so forth.

When you come across a weak verb like this, ask yourself if it’s the best possible fit the English language has to offer you. Sometimes , a simple word might be enough; for instance, there’s not much that outshines “said” in a dialogue tag . You don’t need to use creative language in every single sentence (unless you’re Angela Carter). Often, however, it’s helpful to challenge yourself to find more vivid verbs to replace these broad strokes.

Examples of effective vivid verbs

Consider the following examples:

Realizing her mistake, she ran back to the classroom.

“Ran” in this context is a bit wishy-washy. It’s not doing any harm, but it could be better. Is there a more vivid verb we can use instead?

Consider “barrelled,” “darted,” “catapulted,” “raced,” “sped,” “bolted,” or “sprinted.” Each of them feels a little bit different, like finding the right puzzle piece. What you know of your character, setting, and circumstance will help you determine the one word that’s the perfect fit.

With the vivid verb treatment:

Realizing her mistake, she bolted back to the classroom.

Here’s another gasping fish of a sentence to consider:

He liked his new co-worker.

“Liked” is a boring verb that covers a lot of ground; it doesn’t tell us very much. What about:

“Respected,” “appreciated,” “desired,” “enjoyed,” “loved,” “craved,” “adored,” “favored,” “admired,” “idolized,” or “fancied. ”

He admired his new co-worker.

Suddenly, with a strong verb and an active voice, these characters and this place feel alive.

Strong verbs create a vivid picture in the reader’s mind

Sometimes, it’s the smallest adjustments that make the biggest difference in our writing—whether it’s an academic article, a novel, short stories, or personal essays. Professional writers know to make their work as clear and concise as possible, which means snipping out those boring verbs and replacing them with interesting word choices that bring the narrative to life.

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Vivid Verbs: How to Use Them (With Examples)

Krystal N. Craiker

Bland verbs make for mundane stories. Some might be permissible or even necessary, but too many boring verbs pull the life out of even the liveliest writing.

So, what are some ways to use more vivid verbs? Let’s discuss.

Vivid Verbs: Definition

Vivid verbs: meaning, how to use vivid verbs in sentences, full a–z list of vivid verbs.

The New Oxford Dictionary defines vivid as “producing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind.”

The key word is “clear.” We want to strive for clarity with our verbs.

Take the verb “fall” as an example. There’s nothing wrong with the word; most people know what it means.

However, it could certainly be clearer. A fall just means downward motion; it suggests nothing about intention or distance.

Say we swap “fall” with a vivid verb like “tumble.” It’s more vivid because it implies a clumsy roll, or perhaps even an accidental fall.

Or we could use “plummet,” which paints of vivid picture of someone falling from a huge distance, likely to their doom.

Or what about “descend?” That feels much more gradual and intentional, like an airplane landing.

See how much more meaning we can get from verbs? That’s what we mean by “vivid.”

In creative writing , verbs are crucial. Action verbs are the best words for creating a picture in your readers’ minds.

Of course, adjectives and adverbs are great, but vivid verbs have motion attached to them.

UsingF vivid verbs means choosing a strong verb to paint a picture, adding clarity and specificity. Weak verbs don’t evoke the same images as vivid verbs.

How do you determine whether a verb is strong or weak?

Common verbs like walk or run are usually weak. Instead of describing how someone walks with an adjective (e.g. walks slowly ), a strong verb can provide more information about the character and the scene .

Both meanders and shuffles are synonyms for walks slowly , but these vivid verbs each evoke a different mood.

Meanders denotes a lazy pace, usually with peace. Shuffles implies that the character is feeling an emotion like sadness or embarrassment.

Let’s examine Strunk and White’s famous advice from The Elements of Style : “Omit needless words.”

This advice is especially useful for verbs, because we often use multiple words when we could use one. Take this sentence as an example:

• The dog jumped over the obstacle.

Jumped is our verb and over is our preposition .

Although this sentence functions correctly and gives us the right information, we’re using two words where one will do. Jump is not the strongest verb, and over is a needless word.

Instead, let’s try this:

• The dog hurdled the obstacle.

Not only have we used one word instead of two, we’ve also used a more vivid verb. Jump is generic, while hurdle implies athleticism.

You can also visualize your work when you’re editing . Simply read a scene you’re working on aloud, then close your eyes and visualize it.

Having a hard time seeing it? That might be because your verbs aren’t specific enough. For example, imagine this line:

• She threw the ball.

When you read and visualize that line, you probably see a simple throw, but nothing particularly distinct. That’s a tell-tale sign that you’re lacking vivid verbs. So, how about this?

• She hurled the ball.

Now imagine the character getting her full weight behind the ball and having it rocket into the distance. With such a clear image, that must be a better verb!

For many of us, we don’t categorize words into types (like verbs and adjectives) as we read them. If your writing feels a little flat, you may not realize that verbs are the culprit.

Another way to visualize your verbs is by highlighting them with ProWritingAid’s Thesaurus Report . This report highlights all of the verbs in your writing so you can see which ones might need improving.

If you decide you need to swap out some of your words for more vivid verbs, you can find contextually relevant synonyms in the report.

Using ProWritingAid’s Thesaurus Report lets you see where all of the verbs are so you can edit and improve your verbs with ease.

Here are a few more examples of vivid verbs:

Weak : She looked at the book from the mysterious librarian, but saw nothing important. Vivid : She scrutinized the book from the mysterious librarian, but saw nothing important.

Weak : He said he would never forgive me. Vivid : He whispered he would never forgive me.

Weak : The soprano sang the solo with all her heart. Vivid : The soprano belted the solo with all her heart.

If you need some ideas for vivid verbs, check out our list of 50 powerful verbs to use in your writing.

Vivid verbs make for great writing. Use your words to paint a picture by swapping out your weaker verbs for stronger ones.

Take your writing to the next level:

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Whether you are writing a novel, essay, article, or email, good writing is an essential part of communicating your ideas., this guide contains the 20 most important writing tips and techniques from a wide range of professional writers..

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Check every email, essay, or story for grammar mistakes. Fix them before you press send.

Krystal N. Craiker is the Writing Pirate, an indie romance author and blog manager at ProWritingAid. She sails the seven internet seas, breaking tropes and bending genres. She has a background in anthropology and education, which brings fresh perspectives to her romance novels. When she’s not daydreaming about her next book or article, you can find her cooking gourmet gluten-free cuisine, laughing at memes, and playing board games. Krystal lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband, child, and basset hound.

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273 Strong Verbs That’ll Spice Up Your Writing

Do you ever wonder why a grammatically correct sentence you’ve written just lies there like a dead fish?

I sure have.

Your sentence might even be full of those adjectives and adverbs your teachers and loved ones so admired in your writing when you were a kid.

But still the sentence doesn’t work.

Something simple I learned from The Elements of Style years ago changed the way I write and added verve to my prose. The authors of that little bible of style said: “Write with nouns and verbs, not with adjectives and adverbs.”

Even Mark Twain was quoted, regarding adjectives: “When in doubt, strike it out.”

That’s not to say there’s no place for adjectives. I used three in the title and first paragraph of this post alone.

The point is that good writing is more about well-chosen nouns and strong verbs than it is about adjectives and adverbs, regardless what you were told as a kid.

There’s no quicker win for you and your manuscript than ferreting out and eliminating flabby verbs and replacing them with vibrant ones.

• How To Know Which Verbs Need Replacing

Your first hint is your own discomfort with a sentence. Odds are it features a snooze-inducing verb.

As you hone your ferocious self-editing skills , train yourself to exploit opportunities to replace a weak verb for a strong one.

At the end of this post I suggest a list of 273 vivid verbs you can experiment with to replace tired ones.

Want to download a copy of this strong verbs list to reference whenever you write? Click here. What constitutes a tired verb? Here’s what to look for:

• 3 Types of Verbs to Beware of in Your Prose

1. State-of-being verbs

These are passive as opposed to powerful:

Am I saying these should never appear in your writing? Of course not. You’ll find them in this piece. But when a sentence lies limp, you can bet it contains at least one of these. Determining when a state-of-being verb is the culprit creates a problem—and finding a better, more powerful verb to replace it— is what makes us writers. [Note how I replaced the state-of-being verbs in this paragraph.]

Resist the urge to consult a thesaurus for the most exotic verb you can find. I consult such references only for the normal word that carries power but refuses to come to mind.

I would suggest even that you consult my list of powerful verbs only after you have exhaust ed all efforts to come up with one on your own. You want Make your prose to be your own creation, not yours plus Roget or Webster or Jenkins. [See how easy they are to spot and fix?]

Impotent: The man was walking on the platform.

Powerful: The man strode along the platform.

Impotent: Jim is a lover of country living.

Powerful: Jim treasures country living.

Impotent: There are three things that make me feel the way I do…

Powerful: Three things convince me…

2. Verbs that rely on adverbs

Powerful verbs are strong enough to stand alone.

The fox ran quickly dashed through the forest.

She menacingly looked glared at her rival.

He secretly listened eavesdropped while they discussed their plans.

3. Verbs with -ing suffixes

Before: He was walking…

After: He walked…

Before: She was loving the idea of…

After: She loved the idea of…

Before: The family was starting to gather…

After: The family started to gather…

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Top 40+ List of Vivid Verbs For Writers

If you are looking for a list of vivid verbs in the English language, take a look at the list below!

You need to be descriptive in your writing, which is why you should use strong words. Creative writing is all about how you frame your content, which is why it is helpful to use a thesaurus  if you are looking for strong word choices. If you use weak verbs, you could lose your reader, and you might have difficulty holding their attention. 

Instead of going with common verbs, look at the list of vivid verbs below, and use powerful verbs to make your writing more interactive. So what are some vivid verbs you should consider including in your writing?

What Are Vivid Verbs?

Walked vivid verbs, ran vivid verbs, laughed vivid verbs, liked vivid verbs.

Vivid verbs are words that show rather than tell. You can use them to paint a mental picture for your reader, showing the reader what is physically happening to your character. They may take the form of action verbs, and they allow you to create interest in your writing. For example, it can create a feeling of sadness, excitement, anger, or any other emotion you want your reader to feel. Vivid verbs come in many shapes and forms, which is why it is helpful to look at a list.

If you are looking for a different word to use other than “walked,” there are several examples from which to choose. Walking comes in many shapes and forms, depending on how your character goes through it. Here are some of the words you might want to choose to include:

1. Ambled: John ambled down the street on a sunny day.

2. Hiked: Graham hiked to the top of the mountain in the middle of a snowstorm.

3. Lumbered: He lumbered around town, sending vibrations everywhere he went. 

4. Marched: The military unit marched down the main street with their supreme leader saluting them from start to finish.

5. Meandered: The couple meandered down Main Street, looking at all the exciting displays in the shops and restaurants.

6. Paraded: They paraded around town with an unnecessary and excessive arrogance that annoyed everyone around them. 

7. Sauntered: He sauntered into the classroom 20 minutes late, much to the teacher’s chagrin. 

8. Strolled: They strolled around the park, looking at all the people lying on the grass and enjoying the sunshine.

9. Traverse: They knew they had to traverse the ravine to get to where they wanted to go and tried to do it as quickly as possible.

10. Trudged: They trudged through the mud, struggling to make it back in the truck, which had slid down the hill even with the emergency brake. 

Many characters have to run from place to place, but running can look very different in different situations. For example, is your character out for a run as a form of exercise? Or is your character running from something trying to kill them? Choosing a word other than “run” can be helpful, and some of the words that you might want to consider include:

11. Barreled: He barreled into the store like a bull in a china shop, destroying everything in sight.

12. Bolted: The cat bolted out from under the chair and hid under the desk, hiding from the unfamiliar person who had just walked into the room.

13. Darted: The dog darted from place to place, trying to catch the squirrel, which always seemed to stay one step ahead.

14. Galloped: He galloped across the track with speed unparalleled by anyone else in his heat.

15. Hurried: She hurried up the stairs and tried to grab the elevator, but the doors closed just before she could get inside.

16. Jogged: He jogged down the street, trying to hold the paste he would hold for his marathon the next day.

17. Raced: They raced from store to store, trying to find the perfect birthday present, but could not seem to find anything that was entirely right.

18. Scampered: The children scampered outside for recess, racing to see who could get the swingset first.

19. Sprinted: As soon as the gun went off, they sprinted down the track, trying to break the school record. 

20. Trotted: They trotted across the parking lot, dodging the raindrops as they went. 

Comedy is a very common form of writing, but instead of simply describing your character as laughing, you might be looking for something different. For example, is a word more descriptive to describe a character who laughs? Some of the options you may want to consider include:

21. Bellowed: The joke was so funny that the audience bellowed across the room, echoing in the auditorium.

22. Cackled: The Wicked Witch of the West immediately cackled at the mere thought of what would happen to them next.

23. Chortled: As he thought about what would happen next, he chortled  with an arrogant belly laugh, immediately sending chills up the spine of everyone in the room.

24. Chuckled:  He chuckled after the story, knowing that everyone in the room would be able to relate to it.

25. Crowed: Immediately after sharing the story, everyone crowed with laughter. 

26. Giggled: She immediately giggled at the thought of going out with her best friend, envisioning what happened in her mind.

27. Guffawed: The man guffawed with excitement, showcasing precisely what his sense of humor was like to everyone.

28. Howled: The mere thought of what happened next was so funny that he howled with excitement.

29. Roared: The comedian put on such an impressive set that the audience roared so loud people could hear them from miles away.

30. Snickered: As the plan went into motion, he snickered, knowing that he had manipulated everyone perfectly. 

31. Tittered:  After the last statement, he could hear the audience tittering because of what he’d said, but he decided to keep going anyway.

The word “liked” is overused in a lot of writing, and if you want to make a positive impression on your reader, you should try to pick something more descriptive. Does your reader like something? Or does your reader love something? There might be a different word you’d prefer, with some of the most common examples being:

32. Admired:  She admired what he was able to accomplish, particularly given the tight schedule they were trying to keep.

33. Adored: He adored his big brother, trying to be like him in everything he did. 

34.  Appreciated:  He appreciated everything his mom did for him, even if he clashed with her from time to time.

35. Cherished: She cherished the thought of spending every minute with him and wanted to do everything she could to get back to him.

36. Enjoyed: He enjoyed spending every minute with his family, but he knew it was time to return to his hometown. 

37. Walked: When he walked into the ice cream shop, he knew that he fancied the cookies and cream, but he decided to go with bubble gum instead.

38. Favored: The teacher always favored him, perhaps because of his hardworking nature, not because of his innate talent.

39. Idolized: He idolized his father and missed him dearly, particularly after the funeral service.

40. Relished: She relished the upcoming vacation, but she knew she had a lot to do first. 

41. Treasured:  He treasured that teddy bear but knew it was time to grow up, so he decided to part ways with it. 

42. Worshipped:  Even though he worshipped that car and all the memories he had made in it, he knew it was on its last legs. 

Every good story has a hero and a villain. Our guide to the protagonist vs. antagonist explains what every storyteller must know.

Meet Rachael, the editor at Become a Writer Today. With years of experience in the field, she is passionate about language and dedicated to producing high-quality content that engages and informs readers. When she's not editing or writing, you can find her exploring the great outdoors, finding inspiration for her next project.

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How to Use Vivid Verbs to Bring Your Scenes to Life

by J. D. Edwin | 3 comments

Have you ever felt your writing is flat, despite how many beautiful words you use? You might be overusing adjectives and adverbs. Luckily, there is an easy fix—use vivid verbs instead.

Although you might instinctively think adjectives will improve your character description or prose, swapping exciting verbs for common verbs actually does a better job at electrifying your creative writing.

In this article, you can learn a two-step process to improve your writing skills, and start implementing these tips with a little help from a descriptive verb list filled with various strong verbs.

The 2-Step Process to Bring Your Scenes to Life With Vivid Verbs

What are some ways to use vivid verbs in the English language? Ways that tale dill verbs and turn them into sensory verbs that bring a story to life?

To improve your descriptive writing, you need to do more than rely on a thesaurus filled with catchy synonyms that may or may not work for your story.

This two-step process to using creative writing verbs will help write a vivid picture for every scene. Thus, it will bring your story to life.

Step 1: Decide on your message

The fact is, a verb has a lot to say. Just like how action speaks volumes in life, verbs speak volumes in a story. But it's important that you first decide on what you want to say to your readers. Take the following:

The flower was a beautiful shade of red, its petals full of dewdrops, reflecting the light of the sun.

There is nothing wrong with this sentence—the flower is red, and it is beautiful. But what are you trying to say to your readers? There is nothing beyond the simple appearance of the flower.

Do you want your readers to openly admire the flower itself? Or look at it as something more, like a symbol of love or hope?

Does it represent honest beauty or vanity? What purpose does this flower serve for your story?

Decide on the message you want to convey first and foremost. Then, replace any weak verbs or adjectives with vivid verbs that better enforce that message.

Step 2: Choose the right verbs

People perform their actions with intention. In literature, objects and plants do as well. Once you’ve decided on your message and how you want your object to contribute to the scene, you have to choose the correct “actions” for it to take.

Consider a scene where your character stumbles onto an abandoned lot in an apocalyptic wasteland and is surprised to find living plants growing in it, among which is a shockingly beautiful flower:

The flower brandished its bold red petals, adorned with sun-kissed dew drops.

Suddenly, the flower seems alive. It is still red, and full of dew, but now it’s also prideful, boasting its beauty to the viewer, setting itself apart from the desolation around it.

Action verbs can make great vivid verbs.

Just look at how the dew drops are no longer just water but “adorned” like jewels in the revised example. As if the flower chose to dress up and put itself on display. Even the sun feels more alive with the use of the word “kissed.”

Your character is drawn to this surprising object out of its normal environment, full of life and energy.

Now consider that your characters, a young couple in love, are sitting in a field struggling to confess their feelings. One of them spots a flower that might make a nice spontaneous gift for the other:

The flower blushed under the sun, rouge-red petals hidden under a layer of dew.

See how the flower seems shy, demure and gentle, like a lady consciously concealing her face? The point is further driven home by using the word “rouge,” which invokes the image of makeup. Your characters are in love, and the flower is now a timid third participant, offering itself as a symbol of their affection.

Whether trying to improve your writing in an English language arts class or your latest fiction book, using vivid verbs could make the difference between a mediocre paper or book and a great one.

Getting Started: Try These Vivid Verbs

Sometimes embracing the concept of using vivid verbs is a lot easier than actually coming up with  some strong action verbs for your prose.

To get you started, try using some of these verbs in your sentences to inspire actions instead of using adjectives  commonly used to describe emotions:

A Brief List of Vivid Verbs

Angry: crunch, grind, yank

Bashful:  blush, hide, blink

Cheerful:  giggle, chime, skip

Delightful:  hug, tickle, sing

Excited:  clink, jump, hoot

Fearful:  bawl, shiver, whimper

Grumpy:  sigh, moan, huff

Hungry:  gobble, rumble, crunch

Icky:  bump, stink, ooze

Joyous:  kiss, squeeze, laugh

Kind:  smile, brush, stroke

Loud:  blare, screech, blast

Mad:  stomp, yell, shake

Nervous:  quiver, chatter, scrunch

Optimistic:  open, volunteer, lead  

Pride:  beam, win, support

Quiet:  tiptoe, hush, whisper

Remorse:  grieve, reflect, fight

Slow: saunter, plod, stagger

Tough:  tackle, stand, lift  

Upset:  ramble, speed, squeak

Vicious:  punch, claw, bite

Worry:  tap, tug, fidget

Zest:  scamper, twirl, bake

The Magic of Vivid Verbs

The same object described using different vivid verbs invokes vastly different impressions. Not only that, they can contribute to the atmosphere of a story much more strongly than adjectives. Using description this way can also increase the strength of your story within its particular genre .

A hero heading into battle in an epic fantasy novel might cross a mountain path with trees “bending to acknowledge his might” and a breeze “parting grass and leaves before him to make way.”

In contrast, an old man mourning his lost youth on a morning walk might see trees “bent and tired under the weight of their leaves, strangled by ivy,” and hear the wind “sighing its exhaustion, whispering secrets of days past.”

A good way to get a grasp on the concept of describing with verbs is to think of everything in a scene as a contributing character—objects included. Decide on their purpose and pick the appropriate action, and you have a living, breathing scene.

Do you use vivid verbs to enhance description? Let us know in the comments .

For today's practice, describe something (or someone!) with verbs, not adjectives. First, pick a subject:

• A couple having a fight
• Something else (your choice!)

Next, choose an emotion from the list above.

Then, write a paragraph about your subject that captures that emotion. Remember to use vivid verbs to express the emotion with action.

Take fifteen minutes to write. Share your descriptive paragraph in the comments, and don’t forget to leave feedback for your fellow writers!

J. D. Edwin

J. D. Edwin is a daydreamer and writer of fiction both long and short, usually in soft sci-fi or urban fantasy. Sign up for her newsletter for free articles on the writer life and updates on her novel, find her on Facebook and Twitter ( @JDEdwinAuthor ), or read one of her many short stories on Short Fiction Break literary magazine .

Waiting in the refined hush of the president’s parlor, Mary Pearson struggled to tuck in a loose bead on her dead

mother’s reticule. Frayed threads and faded cotton, it was over 40 years old. The weary bead popped off and rolled

across Cottey College’s impossibly shiny wood floor. Made of cheap glass, it rattled toward a large palm fern and

petered out behind the footed pot.

The rock yanked away from the other rocks, grinding away the hours. The wind screamed its defiance, shouting insults at him. The trees fought with each other. The grass stomped and fumed.

He sauntered down the street, listing to the trees whisper secrets of days gone by. He saw the orange leaves, discarded into the ground, and saw the grass strangled by the wind. He knew in his heart he was getting old.

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The Poet's Corner

• Oct 13, 2022

Vivid Verbs: What They Are and How You Can Use Them

Vivid verbs are essential in demonstrating what’s happening to your characters, both physically and mentally in your story. In my last blog post, I explained the importance of “show, don’t tell” and how strong and descriptive language immerses your audience into your story's settings, plots, and characters.

What Are Vivid Verbs, and Why Are They Important?

So, what is a vivid verb? Vivid verbs are descriptive verbs that will help you create a sense of interest and excitement in your writing.

Descriptive language puts your readers into the character’s shoes. Choosing powerful verbs in your writing sets the tone for how relatable and exciting your story can be. Adding one or two vivid verbs to your sentence helps your readers visualize your character's actions and thoughts.

When you’re crafting a sentence, don’t passively tell your story. Be intentional, use “show, don’t tell,” and use vivid verbs where they make sense in your story

If you aren’t already, follow my Instagram or TikTok to see my video series on different vivid verbs you can use for common actions!

Paint a Picture in Your Reader's Mind

As I mentioned before, vivid verbs are essential to writers because they clearly communicate your character's thoughts and actions.

Read these two sentences:

1. Jenna was angry.

2. Jenna stomped her feet and rolled her eyes.

Which sentence is better? Which one paints a vivid picture in your mind?

You don’t want to make your readers work at imagining what you’re trying to convey in your sentences. You want to be clear and concise. Vivid verbs like stomped or rolled give you a better idea of Jenna’s actions. Show that she’s angry. When you use passive verbs like was , your readers will probably be less engaged. Your readers want you to show them what’s going on in your story, rather than just telling them. To learn more about the golden writing rule of show, don’t tell, check out my recent blog post here .

Here’s another example:

1. Randy was hungry.

2. Randy snatched up the last sandwich, scarfing it down in seconds.

Which sentence do you think is better?

Definitely Sentence 2! With vivid verbs, like snatched , you can imagine exactly how Randy was feeling AND what he was doing. Describing how an emotion, like hunger or anger, affects your character shows your reader more than if you just state your character’s emotion. Writing is a craft, and choosing your words carefully and intentionally when you write will be the best practice that you implement into your writing process—I guarantee it!

Here is a quick list of vivid verbs you can use for these common actions, and don’t forget to follow me on IG or TikTok @thepoetscorner_ for more:

a. Strolled

b. Wandered

d. Sauntered

h. Shuffled

i. Stumbled

5. Saw/Watched

7. Went (Quickly)

8. Went (Slowly)

Want more? Message me for common actions you’d like to see in my Vivid Verb Series on TikTok and Instagram .

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How to Use Vivid Verbs to Strengthen Your Story

Most writing advice takes the form of advancing your ability to craft and formulate an engaging story. But so often the advice ceases to explore storytelling beyond story construction. Imagine stories are like buildings and authors are like every facet of the building’s lifetime.

Authors represent the architects who plan out the building and the construction workers who place the blocks. The readers later represent the people who inhabit the building.

We so often receive advice on how to outfit a story with support beams, scaffolding, and room layouts. All those suggestions and tips provide enough information for us to conjure up a story that can fit the definition of a story, but in focusing so much on the building’s construction, writing advice often leaves out one of the most crucial elements: beautifying and furnishing with vivid verbs.

We (including us here at Habit Writing) focus so intensely on how to construct a story that we forget to learn (or teach) how to write beautifully.

Certainly you can find plenty of books on writing poetry that place special emphasis on imagery, vivid verbs, provocative adjectives, and plenty of other ways to string together words to achieve meaning and beauty. But this aspect of writing is noticeably absent (or severely underrepresented) in books on writing fiction.

In this article, we’ll discuss some ways to include the right verb and bolster your vocabulary.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary has a 67-word definition of what a verb is and entails, but we’ll stick with the simplest one: a verb is an action word.

Elementary teachers grill their students on verbs, students of a new language memorize verbs , and every day everyone everywhere participates in verbs. I doubt anyone could overstate the importance of verbs as a whole.

To Be Verbs

And yet, we focus so little on them because they can slide under the radar. Our interest in these sentence building blocks fizzles out because so many easier options exist. Think about how often you use a “to be” verb and connect it to some sort of description. Try this one: “Taxes are boring.”

I certainly agree with this sentiment, but “are” here plays the role of a weak verb. Sure they “are boring” (unless you work as a tax attorney and find them deeply engaging), but we can easily replace the “to be” verb with a more precise one. “Taxes bore me.” This sentence employs a strong verb that efficiently describes what exactly taxes do.

Ridding your manuscript of as many “to be” verbs as you can will drastically upgrade your writing. Sometimes you can’t escape “to be” verbs because things exist , things are . But, by removing them as often as possible and replacing them with a better word choice, you can color your language, more accurately depict your characters’ actions, and subtly increase your readers’ enjoyment.

If you find yourself writing a “to be” verb, you should first ask yourself, “Is this necessary?” If it is, by all means include it. If you find, on the other hand, that you can rewrite the same idea without one, you’ll likely notice that the sentence promotes a stronger, more effective visual. At the very least, you might just think more creatively about your writing.

As another exercise, we’ll pretend you were about to write the phrase, “James was tired.”

This phrase seems quite bland (but serviceable). Think of how you might show that James is tired without using a “to be” verb. We’ll put this picture of a tired person here so you don’t skip ahead to what we’ve thought up.

For the sake of hyperbolizing my point, I wrote this: James’s every thought begged him to slither into bed where he might finally alleviate the protuberant bags under his eyes.

Getting rid of “to be” verbs needn’t be this loquacious, but hopefully you can see that when confronting this type of verb, you can choose the lazy route or the descriptive route.

Choosing vivid verbs and descriptions can prove immensely difficult, but the more you practice it, the simpler it becomes. If you don’t want to spend your writing time stopping every three minutes to invoke the story gods for a better verb, simply highlight the “to be” instance and return to it later.

Spice Up the Common Verb

Another way you can introduce vivid verbs into your writing comes when you replace a common verb with a more exciting one. The replacement doesn’t always need excite your readers, but it does present you with characterization moments .

Let’s take the simple and common verb “walk”. This verb does what we need it to, but if your character has a broken or peg leg, their walk may appear drastically different from another’s. Maybe rather than walking, the character limps away, hobbles away, or step-drags step-drags away.

By playing around with new ways of describing common words, you facilitate characterization and make your characters more life-like and unique.

Beyond just including more interesting verbs, this form of characterization can introduce motifs to your characters. A certain character might always slurp their wine instead of simply drinking it. Maybe your Captain of the Guard struts instead of marches. If you use a vivid verb in the place of a normal one and constantly associate it with a character, the reader will form an attachment to that word and character.

Every word you use when depicting your character will bring life to them and set them apart (if you use a descriptive verb).

A note on adverbs: Stephen King, that great detester of adverbs is quoted to say, “I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops. To put it another way, they’re like dandelions. If you have one in your lawn, it looks pretty and unique.” He furthers this simile by saying that the adverbs become weeds in a once beautiful lawn.

Now, Stephen King’s success as one of the greats means we should at least validate his advice, but it doesn’t mean we have to follow it to a T. The problem with adverbs is they’re easy.

Rather than replacing common verbs with better verbs, we can simply take the verb and attach an adverb to it. Rather than “He hobbled away”, we can say “He walked unsteadily.”

There’s nothing inherently wrong with adverbs; in fact, they can describe activities in ways that some verbs simply cannot. Yet, if you constantly use adverbs when a stronger verb can do the same thing, you’ll likely exasperate your readers (especially if they’re writers who have heard Stephen King’s vitriolic detestation of adverbs).

Strengthening Your Vocabulary

Improving and expanding your vocabulary takes years of dedication and habitual research. That is, of course, unless you want to sit down and perform rote memorization of words like you’re learning a new language. We don’t suggest doing that.

The key to bolstering your vocabulary is quite simple: Read. A lot. (Which will also help with finding story ideas .)

Because most people cycle through the same colloquial words, you can’t effectively rely on learning new words through conversation.

Reading, then, presents us with the best way to encounter brand new words, and in this case, verbs. While reading, pay attention to words you don’t immediately recognize, then, when you find one, search your trusty (and nearby) dictionary to read through the definition.

But don’t just read through it once. Read it over again to help solidify your understanding.

Then, make note of the word somehow. I keep a running list of new words on my phone and try to read through it and test myself whenever I remember to.

The final step is to use the new words you learn. You can say them in conversation or write them in a story or essay. But once you’ve used a new piece of your vocabulary arsenal, you’ll more easily remember it.

Reading a word and learning its meaning is like watching the trailer to a movie. You have a brief idea of what the movie contains, but seeing the movie will help you remember and experience it.

Using the word is like watching the movie. You know its shape. The more you watch it, the more familiar it feels. Do that with words and each one will become a powerful tool in your writer’s hands.

Aside from reading, you can strengthen your vocab with a thesaurus. This method presents some dangers, however. I personally have succumbed to a flashy new thesaurus verb only to find out that it means something different than I thought.

Never use a thesaurus without a dictionary. Think of it as a certification process. You can be sure it’ll fit your sentence when you know what it means. Then, once certified, it’ll also stick in your memory better.

Finally, love words! This may be an unteachable practice, but I imagine that as a writer you already have an innate appreciation of language. Follow that passion and chase down the origin of words. Learn derivatives and etymology.

Generations of people constructed language and words follow rules. Learn the rules and the way they connect. The more you love a language, the more you’ll absorb new words and ways of finding them.

Writing takes practice. If this article felt overwhelming, just remember that you can improve one word at a time, but you don’t have to get stuck on switching over every single verb.

Don’t get caught up thinking “There’s always a better verb”, like Qui-Gon jinn and his fish. That will paralyze you. Continually writing is more important than anything.

Practicing these methods when you can will help. Even just pausing to consider the ramifications of a verb starts the mentality shift. Trying to write better verbs while improving your vocabulary will ensure that you expand your writing tools and will help you have characters that teem with life.

Verbs depict the lifeblood of your characters. They explain how someone does something. You facilitate how the reader understands these people through your choice of verbs. Make those words count by including the most precise verbs.

For more helpful writing suggestions, check back at our Habit Writing blog !

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Creative Writing: Vivid Verbs To Boost Your Language

• Posted By Randall Chew

Happy June Holidays and hello, again! I hope that you children will be able to catch a breather during this break even though some of my pupils have already told me about the homework that they have for this month! In my third post, I will be looking at the use of verbs and how using appropriate and precise verbs will help you to express yourself better in your writing. If you have a piece of writing to do, it will be a good opportunity to try out how to use vivid verbs for creative writing!

First of all, what are verbs?

Simply put, although there are a few types of verbs, most people remember verbs as words that describe actions, such as run, jump, skip and stumble. Stories are full of verbs because they involve actions done by the characters. Writers c hoose their verbs carefully so that they can paint a clear picture of the actions carried out by the characters they create . Using precise verbs will also help to convey other important things about the characters, such as how they feel and what kind of people they are. 

To illustrate my point, let’s start by comparing these two simple sentences:

A: Jake walked to school.

B: Jake limped to school.

Both sentences are similar because they tell the action done by Jake but what makes the second one better? By using ‘limped’, the writer is suggesting an extra detail about Jake and makes us ask, “Why is Jake limping? Is he injured?” The word ‘walked’ , although a legitimate verb, is limiting because it is too simple and does not tell us more about Jake.

Let’s take a look at another example:

A: “Get out of my room!” Anna said.

B: “Get out of my room!” Anna fumed.

By using the word ‘fumed’, the writer has revealed to us Anna’s anger while ‘said’ is too generic a word because it does not reveal to us how Anna is actually feeling.

These two examples help to illustrate the importance of using vivid verbs – verbs that are appropriate to the situation as well as precise in their description of the action. So how do you ensure that you always use vivid verbs in your writing?

How do I start using vivid verbs for creative writing?

1. Make sure to stay away from simple words like ‘walk’, ‘go’, ‘say’ and ‘ask’ . If there is a better, more apt word, use that. Sometimes, looking the alternative up in a thesaurus might help. But be careful to check the meaning of the new word in a dictionary to see that it is appropriate for the situation.

2. The only way to learn more and better verbs is to READ as widely as you can . Take note of how writers like Roald Dahl and J.K. Rowling use vivid verbs to make their stories come alive. Here’s a short extract from a popular Roald Dahl’s book, “Matilda”. Read the writer’s description of the Headmistress, Miss Trunchbull. Try spotting the vivid verbs that Mr. Dahl has used in his writing to create Miss Trunchbull’s personality:

“When she marched – Miss Trunchbull never walked, she always marched like a storm trooper with long strides and arms swinging – when she marched along a corridor you could actually hear her snorting as she went and if a group of children happened to be in her path, she ploughed on through them like a tank, with small people bouncing off her to the left and right.”

What are some words that popped up in your mind about Miss Trunchbull as you read this? Let’s take a look at how Miss Trunchbull looks like and how Mr. Dahl’s description had helped to create her personality.

From his description, we could tell that Miss Trunchbull is an unpleasant person from her actions – she ‘marched’ like a storm trooper, she would ‘snort’ as she went along the corridor and ‘ploughed on’ through the children like a tank. The writer has used interesting verbs to give us a clear picture of Miss Trunchbull’s personality Try replacing ‘marched’ and ‘ploughed on’ with ‘walked’, you will realise that the effect is quite different.

To help you get started, I am providing a table of verbs you can use in your writing :

I hope you find this list useful and remember to keep adding on to it as you read this holiday! Let me know about the additions that you made for each column in the comments section!

Ms Nora is an English Teacher at Lil’ but Mighty. She is committed to providing students with a dynamic and nurturing environment in which they can grow and develop. One of her greatest strengths as an educator is instilling a love for the English Language in her students.

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Descriptive Verbs And Vivid Verbs

Among the vast array of verbs available in the English language, two categories stand out for their ability to bring depth and color to our writing and speech: descriptive verbs and vivid verbs.

Learning about these verbs and how to use them effectively can unlock new levels of expressiveness for English language learners and creative writing students alike. But what are descriptive verbs and vivid verbs, and how are they different?

Below we will aim to answer these questions and provide a list of descriptive verbs and a list of vivid verbs you can use to make your English writing and speaking more expressive, precise, and exciting. We will also provide some tips on how to use descriptive and vivid verbs effectively and suggest some practice activities that you or your students can do. First, let’s take a look at what descriptive verbs are.

What Are Descriptive Verbs?

Descriptive verbs provide more detailed or vivid information about the action being performed. Instead of using more common or generic verbs, descriptive verbs can give a clearer picture of the intensity, manner, or specific way an action takes place.

For instance, consider the common verb “walk.” By replacing “walk” with a more descriptive verb, we can convey more about the way someone is walking:

• He strolled into the room. (This suggests a casual, relaxed manner.)
• She sprinted to the finish line. (This indicates a high speed and intensity.)
• The cat crept around the yard. (This suggests a cautious, stealthy approach.)

Descriptive verbs give the reader or listener a better understanding of the situation, setting, character’s mood, and other nuances that make a story or explanation more engaging and vivid. They help writers “show” what’s happening rather than “tell.”

What Are Vivid Verbs?

Vivid verbs, much like descriptive verbs, are action words that create a clear, detailed, and often sensory-rich image in the reader’s or listener’s mind. They are used to deliver more specific and lively descriptions of actions, often replacing more common or vague verbs. By employing vivid verbs, writers can paint a clearer picture of what is happening in the story, poem, or description.

Consider these examples of common verbs, followed by their more vivid counterparts:

• “Walk” can be replaced with “strut,” “march,” or “scuttle,” each giving a slightly different image of the action.
• “Said” can become “whispered,” “murmured,” “shouted,” “declared,” or “muttered,” again providing a more specific description of how the words were spoken.
• “Look” might become “gaze,” “peer,” “ogle,” “glance,” or “stare,” each conveying a different intensity or manner of looking.

Vivid verbs not only make writing more interesting, but they can also give insight into the character’s emotions, attitudes, or physical condition. They help bring a piece of writing to life.

Descriptive Verbs Vs Vivid Verbs

The terms “descriptive verbs” and “vivid verbs” are often used interchangeably. They both refer to the idea of using more specific, illustrative, and dynamic action words to make writing more engaging and expressive. They aim to provide a clearer picture of the action, mood, intensity, or manner in which something is being done.

That said, one could make a minor distinction between the two in terms of degree. While all vivid verbs are descriptive, not all descriptive verbs are necessarily vivid. A descriptive verb provides more detail than a generic verb, but a vivid verb takes this a step further, often evoking sensory details or strong images.

For example, consider these three sentences:

• “ He ate the sandwich. ” (generic verb)
• “ He devoured the sandwich. ” (descriptive verb)
• “ He wolfed down the sandwich. ” (vivid verb)

“Eat” is a generic verb, “devour” is a more descriptive verb that indicates eating quickly or greedily, and “wolfed down” is an even more vivid verb that creates a strong, almost wild image in the reader’s mind. In practice, however, the distinction between descriptive and vivid verbs is rarely made, and the terms are frequently used to mean the same thing.

Descriptive Verb List With Example Sentences

To help you get a sense of what descriptive verbs are and how to use them, here’s a list of 50 descriptive verbs together with example sentences:

Vivid Verb List With Example Sentences

Here’s a list of 50 vivid verbs together with example sentences:

Tips for Using Descriptive and Vivid Verbs Effectively

Descriptive and vivid verbs are powerful tools for enriching your language, but like any tool, they must be used wisely. Here are some tips for effectively integrating these verbs into your writing and speech.

Understand the Context

The first rule of using descriptive and vivid verbs effectively is to ensure they are suitable for the context. A scientific report might not be the best place for extremely vivid verbs, while a horror story could truly benefit from them. Consider your audience, the purpose of your writing, and the tone you wish to convey.

Don’t Overuse

While these verbs can add richness to your writing, be careful not to overuse them. Like any stylistic device, when overdone, they can become overwhelming and detract from the content of your writing.

Choose Precision Over Complexity

Aim for precision when selecting your verbs. A common mistake is to choose a ‘big’ or ‘complex’ word thinking it sounds more intelligent or advanced. In reality, the best word is often the simplest one that accurately conveys your meaning.

Use them to Show, Not Tell

Descriptive and vivid verbs are excellent tools for the ‘show, don’t tell’ principle in writing. Instead of telling your readers that a character is angry, show them through the character’s actions. Maybe the character “snaps” a pencil in half or “storms” out of the room.

Keep a Thesaurus Handy

A thesaurus can be a writer’s best friend when it comes to finding the perfect verb. However, make sure to fully understand any new word, its connotations, and its typical use before including it in your writing.

Practice, Practice, Practice

As with any aspect of language learning, the key to mastery is practice. The more you read, write, and engage with the English language, the more comfortable you will become with using descriptive and vivid verbs.

Practice Activities for Teachers and Students

Practicing the use of descriptive and vivid verbs can be a fun and engaging way to enrich language skills. Whether you’re a teacher looking for classroom activities or a student seeking to improve your writing, these practical exercises can help you master these versatile verbs.

For Teachers:

Verb Replacement Activity: Give your students a paragraph or a short story that uses very basic verbs. Ask them to replace these basic verbs with more descriptive or vivid verbs that they think will make the story more engaging. This can be done individually, in pairs, or as a group.

Creative Writing Prompt: Provide a writing prompt and instruct students to write a short story or description focusing on the use of descriptive and vivid verbs. This will not only get their creative juices flowing but also provide them with an opportunity to practice their use of these verbs.

Spot the Verb Game: Create a game where students need to identify descriptive and vivid verbs from a passage or a book excerpt. The student who finds the most verbs wins. This will encourage students to pay closer attention to the language in different texts.

For Students:

Daily Journaling: Writing daily in a journal can significantly help in improving your use of descriptive and vivid verbs. Every day, write about your experiences, thoughts, or even describe scenes from a book or a movie, making sure to include descriptive and vivid verbs.

Rewrite a Scene: Choose a scene from your favorite book, and rewrite it using as many descriptive and vivid verbs as you can. This will not only improve your verb usage but also enhance your understanding of how professional writers use these verbs.

Vocabulary Lists: Make a habit of creating vocabulary lists of descriptive and vivid verbs. Try to learn a new verb every day and use it in a sentence. Over time, this will help you build an impressive arsenal of powerful verbs.

Related Resources

Thanks for reading! I hope you now have a better understanding of what descriptive verbs and vivid verbs are and how you can use them to make your English communication more expressive, precise, and engaging. Before you go, check out these related resources that you might find useful: Verbs Of Perception Imperative Verbs Stative Verbs Analytical Verbs Irregular Verbs

What Are Vivid Verbs? Definition, Examples, and More

When writing, your goal should not only be to be clear and concise, but you should also aim to capture the reader with your words. 

Your writing is much more enjoyable when you use expressive literary techniques to paint a picture in the reader’s mind. One method you should use to do this is vivid verbs. But what are vivid verbs?

In this article, we’ll explain what vivid verbs are and how to use them to make your writing more illustrative. 

Table of Contents

What Are Vivid Verbs? 

A vivid verb is a descriptive verb that allows you to take your writing to another level.

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Vivid verbs are a unique part of speech . The point of vivid verbs is to show rather than simply tell what is happening. They are supposed to paint a clear picture in the reader’s mind of what’s happening . Vivid verbs are often verbs accompanied by adverbs to be more descriptive. For example, instead of saying “think”, trying saying that you “ envision ” something!

In creative writing, you may use vivid verbs to show what’s happening to a character both physically and mentally. It allows the reader to visualize the character’s actions better, bringing them deeper into the story.

That said, you can use vivid verbs in any writing or communication. Of course, the standard grammar rules of subject-verb agreement still apply no matter if you’re using vivid verbs or linking vs action verbs . They’re great if you’re recounting a story to a friend, trying to be specific in describing a place, or explaining a particular item you may be looking for. 

The best way to explain what vivid verbs are is to show you. To further illustrate the power of these exciting verbs, let’s look at some vivid verbs in action.

Examples of Vivid Verbs

There are a variety of circumstances in which you can use vivid verbs to strengthen the imagery in your writing.

We have all heard of common helping verbs like is vs are . But vivid verbs are slightly different! For more context on how to use vivid verbs, here are some examples.

Vivid Verb Example #1

• Jamie went on a run .

While the above sentence gives us enough information to understand who is doing the action and what the action is, it doesn’t give us much more. However , if we switch out the common verb “run” for a vivid verb, we can get a lot more meaning out of the sentence.

• In a panic, Jamie sprinted to save the baby stroller, rapidly rolling onto the street.

This sentence gives us a lot more context into what’s happening. “Sprinting” gives us a better idea of the pace at which Jamie was moving, and we also understand why she was moving as quickly as she was, as a stroller was “rapidly rolling.” This sentence makes you wonder if Jamie saved the baby, which means you will keep reading.

Vivid Verb Example #2

• Amanda pushed Alexis.

The action happening here is that one person pushed another, which gives rise to many other questions. Why did Amanda push Alexis? Was she pushing her out of the way to save her from an oncoming car? Let’s find out by replacing the commonly used verb.

• Amid her rage, Amanda violently shoved Alexis into the bush.

As you can see, Amanda’s actions were not friendly at all and were instead malicious, through the vivid verb “violently shoved.” You’d want to keep reading after this sentence to understand what Alexis did to make Amanda so upset. Many writers confuse simple predicate with vivid verbs. So be sure to understand the difference!

Vivid Verb Example #3

• Jessica danced to the music.

What kind of music is Jessica dancing to? How is she dancing? Is she dancing alone? These are questions that you cannot answer from the common verb above.

• Jessica gracefully twirled to classical music with her husband, Keith.

The above questions are all answered by adding vivid verbs and a few other descriptive words to give the full context of the scenario. We can assume that Jessica is happily dancing and envision the way that she is dancing thanks to the vivid verb.

More Tips for Using Vivid Verbs

Now that you’re an expert on vivid verbs, you’re ready to use them more in your writing. No more using boring standard verbs like “ wear “. However, there are a few additional elements to remember to ensure that you use these exciting verbs effectively.

First of all, here are some common vivid verb examples you may want to consider using in your writing:

Another tip is that you want to beware of using too many vivid verbs in a sentence. Verbs are critical parts of any sentence , but that doesn’t mean you can overuse them. It’s great to be as descriptive as possible, but there’s such a thing as being too descriptive, especially when combined with a series of adjectives and adverbs. Take the following example:

The bright yellow sun was intensely beaming and shining its rays over the calm, serene sea.

There are a few things wrong with this sentence. First, although “intensely beaming” is a very vivid verb, two verbs are used in this sentence — “beaming” and “shining” — and these verbs are essentially synonyms. For simplicity’s sake, it’s better to use one verb or another.

What’s more, this sentence is overrun with descriptive adjectives — “bright,” “yellow,” “calm,” and “serene.” While exceptionally descriptive, this is just too many adjectives for one sentence. It’s better to use less description and be concise rather than use too many adjectives and lose the meaning of your sentence.

How To Make Creative Writing Verbs

Try this two steps process.

• Write your message clearly. Don’t get fancy with it. Just write your sentence using regular weak verbs.
• Get creative. Think of some synonym for your verbs the create a more vivid picture. A strong verb can make a huge difference in your sentences.

Take time during your editing process to change out some of your common verbs with more creative alternatives. Unique and vivid language will create interest in your readers minds and you’ll avoid repeating the same words over and over again!

Passive verbs vs active verbs

In active voice, the subject performs the action of the verb.

• For example, “The girl kicked the ball.”

In passive voice, the subject is acted upon by the verb.

• For example, “The ball was kicked by the girl.”

While active voice is usually more direct and concise, there are times when passive voice can be used to good effect. For instance, if you want to emphasize the results of an action rather than the actor, passive voice can be helpful. Vivid verbs aren’t the only type of verbs. You could also use a compound verb to improve your writing!

Wrap-Up: Paint the World With Vivid Verbs 

Vivid verbs are valuable when you want to improve your descriptive writing. Hopefully, you’ve learned more than just what vivid verbs are and are ready to use them to kick your writing up a notch.

Here’s a pro tip: If you ever need help finding synonyms to make your writing more vivid, writing tools such as Grammarly or ProWritingAid can give suggestions for improving your language.

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Replacing Dull Verbs with Vivid Verbs

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Verbs give sentences their power, but some verbs are more powerful than others. Vivid verbs create a clear picture of what the subject is doing, while dull verbs give a general, vague view.

A dull verb tells you that Dakota and Maria go down the hill , but a vivid verb shows how Dakota and Maria glide down the hill.

To energize your writing, choose vivid verbs over dull ones. Here are some examples:

Your Turn The following paragraph contains many dull verbs (in bold ). Replace the dull verbs with vivid ones. If you get stuck, use a print or online thesaurus to find specific and lively verbs.

One snowy afternoon, Dakota and Maria met at the bottom of a steep hill. They went to the top of the hill with their sled. The sledding conditions were perfect. Fluffy snow covered the ground and came from the sky. The two girls got on the sled and pushed off, first moving slowly and then picking up speed. Faster and faster they moved down the hill. Before long, Maria saw a big bump ahead and said , "Get ready! We're heading straight for that jump!" She was right. Their sled hit the bump head on, went airborne, and landed with a thud. Both girls fell off the sled and rolled to a stop. With their faces covered in snow, they got up , laughed, and shouted, "Let's go again!"

From page 104 in Writers Express

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• 110.7.b.12.B
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• 110.22.b.10.C
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• LA 10.2.1.b
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• 110.38.c.5.C
• LAFS.1112.W.1.2
• LA 12.2.1.b
• LA 12.2.2.a
• LA 12.2.2.b
• 110.38.c.5.F
• 110.38.c.9.B.ii
• 110.39.c.5.F
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• LA 12.2.2.d

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More than One Way to Create Vivid Verbs

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

After reviewing specific nouns, students create a two-column list of nouns and ordinary verbs specific to a particular occupation. They then pair a specific noun from the first column with an occupation-related verb from the second column to create descriptive lines with vivid verbs being used in a different context. The trick lies in the fact that the verbs must be used in a new way, having nothing to do with the occupation. Often this approach to writing leads to a natural metaphorical passage as a result. Students refine this writing strategy by rotating through computer stations, each housing a descriptive passage begun by other students, revising and suggesting improvements or just adding lines to the descriptive passages. This lesson plan was developed as part of a collaborative professional writing initiative sponsored by the Kennesaw Mountain Writing Project (KMWP) at Kennesaw State University.

From Theory to Practice

Sandra Whitaker states that: "William E. Nagy and Richard C. Anderson indicate that children must learn approximately three thousand to four thousand words each year just to access what the next grade has to offer (322). That seemingly impossible number comes within reach only when teachers employ a variety of highly effective strategies that deepen students' understanding of language structures, pique their interest in wordplay, and transfer words from receptive to productive vocabulary." (45) In Image Grammar , Harry Noden suggests just such a strategy, used by poet Natalie Goldberg, in which students transplant ordinary verbs in one context into another totally different context. Both writers have found success with this technique in teaching students. In particular, this writing technique appeals to the struggling writer who just cannot think of words that are vivid verbs.

Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.

Materials and Technology

Access to computer lab with network printer

• Vivid Verbs Teacher Examples Sheet
• Acrostic Poems (optional)

Preparation

• Students should be familiar with the basic parts of speech before this lesson. If necessary, review the definitions and characteristics of nouns and verbs before beginning this lesson. The Websites Wide World of Verbs and Guide to Grammar and Style—P can be used in your review.
• Make copies or an overhead transparency of the Vivid Verbs Teacher Examples Sheet .
• If you plan to complete the extension activity, test the Acrostic Poems tool on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tool and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page. Additionally, make copies or an overhead transparency of the example acrostic poem to share with the class.

Student Objectives

Students will

• distinguish between vague and vivid verbs.
• convert ordinary verbs into vivid verbs.
• write descriptive passages use varied strategies.
• evaluate other students' writing for the specificity and visual imagery of their verbs.

Session One

• Conduct a review of specific nouns with students.
• Ask students to write a brief description of their bedroom at its peak of "messiness."
• Allow volunteers to share their descriptions.
• Next, instruct students to make a list of specific nouns (things) that might be found scattered or piled around their bedroom.
• After they have created their lists, ask students to revise the description of their room to include these nouns.
• Finally, share responses and ask students to identify which descriptions were more vivid. Was it the first or second writing?
• Remind students of the power of specific nouns.
• If the descriptions from this session will be used in Session Three and you have computer access for that session, ask students to save their work if they are working at computers or have them type and save the work by the beginning of Session Three .

Session Two

• Do not preview the end activity of this session in any way. Students should not know the next step until it is time to complete the next step.
• Ask students to fold a sheet of notebook paper lengthwise.
• On the left-hand side of the paper, have students randomly list 10 to 20 specific nouns. Explain that the nouns should not relate to each other in any way.
• On the right-hand side of the paper, ask students should list 5 to 10 verbs that are specific to a particular occupation. For example, they might choose the following words for the occupation of chef: slice, dice, chop, stir, marinate, baste.
• Emphasize that the verbs should not relate to the nouns in the left-hand column in any way.
• Finally, instruct students to combine a noun from the left-hand column with a verb in the right-hand column to form a line of description. Explain that the description should NOT relate to the student's chosen occupation.
• Using sentences from the Vivid Verbs eacher Examples Sheet , model a few examples for students.
• Have students write their own sentences, working with peers if desired.
• Five minutes before the session ends, invite volunteers to share sentences with the class.

Session Three

If computers are not available, students can write on notebook paper. They will simply need to rewrite the sentences they revise rather then using the word processor's copy-and-paste function.

• If students are working on a descriptive writing project, have them choose a paragraph or two from their current draft.
• If you want to use a piece of writing that students have already written, ask students to type the description of their rooms from the first session or to open word processor file of the description if it has been typed earlier. If students are working without computers, have them simply get out a written or printed copy of the description.
• If you want to have students write something new, share the assignment that you want them to complete and allow time for them to write their pieces. If working with computers, remind students to save the passage.
• At set intervals (perhaps every 3 minutes), students will rotate around the room, moving to the next computer or paper.
• At each computer, students will read the contributions by their peers.
• Each student will then copy and paste a peer's line to revise, if working at computers. If working with print copies, students can copy, highlight, or circle the sentence; draw an arrow if appropriate, and then write their revised version of the sentence.
• The student will type his or her name on the own contribution.
• Begin the process of rotating among papers, attempting to have students respond to at least three different papers.
• With about five minutes left in the session, end the rotations, and if working at computers, ask students to print out the results of the descriptive writings.
• Have students submit the revisions and review the work. You can use these pieces for further analytical discussions in later class sessions.

Returning to their two-column chart from Session Two , have students use the words from the chart to compose acrostic poems. Have students choose a noun from the left column as the subject of their acrostic poems, and create the lines of their poem using verbs from the right column of the chart. After students have done some preliminary drafting, have them create final versions of their poems with the Acrostic Poems tool. If desired, share the example acrostic poem which uses words from the Vivid Verbs Teacher Examples Sheet .

Student Assessment / Reflections

Check students’ work for completion, using the following questions as guidelines:

• Did the student accurately follow the directions of the activity?
• Was the verb used in a different way from original context?
• Did the new use of the word accurately and vividly paint the desired image?
• Was the student able to improve writing through the evaluation and revision process?

Save formal assessment for students’ future work. In these drafts, look for evidence that students are using vivid verbs to increase the descriptive language in their composition.

• Student Interactives
• Lesson Plans

This online tool enables students to learn about and write acrostic poems. Elements of the writing process are also included.

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February 6, 2023

Bring Your Personal Statement to Life With Vivid, Active Verbs

Your personal statement is an essential element of your application and allows the adcom great insight into who you really are aside from your stats. However, no matter how extensive your experience or how accomplished you might be, all that can be lost in prose that does not do a good job of profiling who you are. 

A personal statement should be personal. It should narrate an experience that influenced you to become a physician . Sometimes, in an effort to sound professional, applicants can sound instead as though they’re trying too hard, fueled by anxiety or intensity that stems from being competitive. Other times, candidates can sound rote or  mechanical, downplaying fabulous achievements by describing them blandly or missing the opportunity to develop the story behind the achievement.

Lastly, some applicants show us a draft of a personal statement that is merely a narrative version of their curriculum vitae. Doing this raises a red flag: the adcom already knows this information. The general rule is to not replicate or reiterate other parts of your application in your personal statement. Instead, tell a human story that exemplifies your ability to be empathetic and compassionate. This requires strong, narrative writing skills that bring to light your beautiful personhood, whether the story you tell is about you or someone else, something you witnessed, and what you have come to understand about humanity, especially disenfranchised populations. 

A good personal statement tells a moving story. This writing requires the use of strong, vivid verbs in a way that livens up descriptions. A direct voice is verbally dexterous and precise in vocabulary and descriptive. For example, imagine that you wish to tell the story of having cared for your terminally ill grandmother. Why not develop this idea into a story in which you describe, in detail, what that experience was like. Rather than say, “My grandmother lived with us when she was sick,” try to capture the details: “My grandmother moved into the spare bedroom of our house last January, during a snowstorm so volatile the windows shook.” 

In describing an event in time, use active verbs to convey sensory information – images, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations – that will transform your essay into a story your readers will want to continue reading. When you edit your essays, revise your verbs . Evaluate the benefit of replacing humdrum words, those that come to mind automatically, with more succinct and effective words. Choose verbs that feel exactly right rather than approximate.

Did you “try,” “plan,” “strive,” or “struggle” to complete a project?

Use a thesaurus (properly!) to transform your language.

Consult a thesaurus for help in upgrading any bland words. Choosing precise words means that you will likely need fewer adverbs and adjectives. Meanwhile, the revised sentences will be much less general and more succinct and specific. Your writing will gain voice and mood with restored vigor. Be sure to focus on enlivening your writing without overdoing it. Don’t exaggerate, and don’t choose language that sounds melodramatic or sensational. Look up the meaning of synonymous words to ensure that you are using them correctly. Not all synonyms in a word processor’s thesaurus mean exactly the same thing. Consider meaning, connotation, and fluidity. Don’t select certain words simply to impress. Choose them to convey meaning with precision.

Our experienced consultants at Accepted know just how to revise your writing so it reads well to others. We can help balance your vocabulary to ensure that you sound intelligent and authentic. Our application essay services can help you share your story in a manner that presents you meaningfully to others.

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• From Example to Exemplary , a free guide to writing outstanding essays
• First Drafts of Personal Statements: Let Yourself Go
• ‘Twas the Night Before Deadlines: A Cautionary Tale of Cliches

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Teach Kids to Use Vivid Verbs in Their Writing

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Want your students or children to stop writing with boring verbs? Me, too! Because writing is stronger and more interesting when we use vivid verbs. But how can we teach children to write with vivid action verbs? I can give you ideas and mentor text picture books that, in my experience as a writing teacher and professional writer, will be helpful.

Read Vivid Verbs in Mentor Texts

Use mentor texts to teach children in all grades about vivid verbs. Look for verbs that sing and move. Consider their more lackluster alternatives. Discuss why the writer chooses those specific words to create their piece of writing.

Read these beautifully written picture books and search for vivid verbs. Underline them. Highlight them. Collect them. List the vivid verbs. (Yes, verb lists can be a helpful revision tool!)

As you read the mentor texts, talk about which verbs sing and shine and which don’t.

What is a Vivid Verb?

Vivid verbs are verbs with meaning — that give readers sensory images and semantic connotations.

The right vivid verb shows semantic nuances. For example, devour is different than eat. If you use the word devour instead of eat, it implies a voracious appetite.

Likewise, fleeing is different than running. If you say flee instead of run, semantically, you’re giving the reader more information. It shows a different meaning — one of intensity and hurry because of a scary situation.

Of course, both flee and devour are MUCH more vivid than verbs of being like was, is, did, went, or had. Those are boring verbs. Of course, occasionally, we must use weak verbs of being. But, you need to understand the difference so you can choose appropriately. (Note: Young writers learning about this can go overboard with their exuberant verb choices, just like they do when they learn about a thesaurus. Let them! It’s part of the process.)

Vivid verbs can also create an atmosphere and emphasize narrative voice . If I’m writing a story about a cat, I would use verbs like tip-toe, prance, and bound. But, I wouldn’t not use those verbs in a story about an elephant. Does that make sense? Elephant-like verbs would be thunder, tromp, and trumpet.

Teach the difference between action verbs and verbs of being (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been) and helping verbs (has or had.) Then, teach kids that action verbs are words that can be acted out. You can only play “Simon Says” with ACTION VERBS. (Why not play it!?)

Revise for Vivid Verbs

It’s essential to revise your writing for verb choices. Even in my own writing, I often start with boring verbs, but in revision, cut the boring verbs and replace them with strong verbs that show action.

Read your writing out loud. This is so important. Stop when you get to a boring verb. Circle it– and come back to it later.

When you go back through, change the circled dull verbs to stronger verb choices.

After reading your mentor texts and making word lists, apply what you know about vivid verbs to your own writing. Don’t forget to revise your drafts for better verbs after your first draft.

Click on the Vivid Verb List image below and get the free pdf download.

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Vivid Verbs Mentor Texts

Coyote Moon by Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline It’s a night in the life of a coyote who is searching for food to feed her cubs. I love the descriptions and verb choices that set the mood. “Twigs crack. Rabbit freezes. Ears twitch. Coyote lunges. Rabbit leaps. Shadows blur. Coyote is fast, but Rabbit is faster, skittering under the slide to safety.”

Walk Your Dog  by Elizabeth Stevens Omlor, illustrated by Neesha Hudson Detailed illustrations of a little girl and her exuberant dog add depth to this book about loving your  pet dog . “ Greet your dog, ” the book begins. Simple three-word sentences on each page make this a good choice for new readers as well as a read aloud. See what you do with your dog from the beginning of the day to the end. “ Settle your dog. // Love your dog .”

Things to Do  by Elaine Magliaro, illustrated by Catia Chien Beautifully illustrated and filled with unique vivid verb made-up words that sparkle as wonderful images!  These are the things to do if you’re dawn, a honeybee, the sky, and more. “ Things to do if you are RAIN / Polka dot sidewalks. Freckle windowpanes. Whoosh down gutter spouts. Gurgle into drains. Patter ’round the porch in slippers of gray. Tap dance on the roof. Then . . . go away .”

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story  by Kevin Noble Maillard, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal This beautifully written gem celebrates Native American culture through the lens of the food Fry Bread.  The repetitive text starts each two-page spread, “ Fry bread is… ” then descriptive, lyrical verse follows each statement, elaborating on the meaning. “ Fry bread is sound / The skillet clangs on the stove / The fire blazes from below / Drop the dough in the skillet / The bubbles sizzle and pop. ” This rich text paired with evocative illustrations is a wonderful book showing Native American traditions of family, food, and love.

The Bell Rang  by James E. Ransome The short, poignant phrases set the tone for a bittersweet, emotional story. The repeated text helps kids put themselves in the shoes of the child narrator, a slave on a plantation whose older brother runs away. Every day is the same — the bell rings, ther parents and her brother Ben go to the field, and she goes to Miss Sarah Mae’s to play with the other children. “ The bell rings. / Daddy gathers wood. / Mama cooks. … Mama kisses me. / Daddy touches my neck / with rough hands .”

We All Play  by Julie Flett See the similarities between humans and animals!  Simple sentences with vivid verbs show animals in playful action plus kids doing the same, showing the similarities between animals and humans.  “ Animals hide and hop // sniff and sneak // and peek and peep. // We play too! kimetawanaw mina .”

Dreamland  by Noah Klocek Luminous illustrations, vivid verbs, and sensory imagery depict  a little girl on a bedtime journey to find her dreams and restful sleep.  My daughter can relate as she has struggled to fall asleep night after night. “ She struggled past the moonlight that fell in her room . . . // and waded through the blankets that seemed lost in the sheets. ” Marching, dancing, and traveling, Amelie finally finds herself in her favorite dreams.

Winter Dance  by Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Richard Jones This beautifully illustrated and written picture book enchants readers with repeated text and soft forest scenes.  Fox asks different forest creatures what he should do to prepare for winter. They tell him what they do in the winter, like make a chrysalis, burrow in the mud, and gather and hide acorns. But it’s not until he sees another red fox that he learns what to do. “ When a million snowflakes fill the air, twirling, tumbling, spinning, waltzing, you and I join them. ” It’s absolutely a joyful celebration of winter.

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Melissa Taylor, MA, is the creator of Imagination Soup. She's a mother, former teacher & literacy trainer, and freelance education writer. She writes Imagination Soup and freelances for publications online and in print, including Penguin Random House's Brightly website, USA Today Health, Adobe Education, Colorado Parent, and Parenting. She is passionate about matching kids with books that they'll love.

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Vivid Verbs Make Writing Come Alive

Thousand word project ( brushstokes and words & colors and vocabulary ), angela gilbert, lewiston middle school, 8th grade english language arts teacher.

Link to the Prezi Lesson:

http://prezi.com/r81h-8fggbmb/using-artwork-to-find-vivid-verbs/

 Proposed Time:   40-50 minute period

Introduction:

The Thousand Words Project was an exciting lesson in my classroom; students were engaged and were able to see a new way of approaching writing.  Students who are visual learners got a chance to visualize how to put a paper together, and having something specific to look at gave them a clear direction for their paper.

The project spends time focusing on the importance of specificity in word choice.  The students watched the video concerning word choice and how important it is to be accurate.  However, I did not see a lesson that concerned the importance of creative and exciting word choices.  There was emphasis on accuracy on words but no on choosing specific diction that is creative and original.  During the Thousand Words Project in my classroom, I supplemented the lessons with a brief lesson of my own involving choosing exciting verbs to help demonstrate their point.  I think that integrating my proposed lesson would be a good way to let the students develop their creative muscles a little further.

Objectives:

• Students will identify active verbs versus passive verbs.
• Students will compare and contrast the effectiveness of active verbs versus passive verbs.
• Students will analyze the purpose of an object in a painting relative to its action.
• Students will compose a short writing piece that utilizes active verbs.

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts

 Writing Standards, Grades 6, 7, and 8:  2. d. – Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.

 Writing Standards, Grades 6, 7, and 8: 3. d. – Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.

Writing Standards, Grades 6, 7, and 8: 10. – Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

 Language Standards, Grade 8: 1. b. – Form verbs in the active and passive voice.

 Language Standards, Grade 8, 3. a. – Use verbs in the active and passive voice and in the conditional and subjunctive mood to achieve particular effects

Teach it: The Prezi Presentation walks students through learning the difference between the passive verb and the active verbs and demonstrates how the active verb can be more descriptive and powerful.  Students are instructed to think about what an object is doing in the picture.  After looking at some examples, students are encouraged to choose their own verbs for an assigned picture.  They begin with one aspect of the picture: a fire.  Giving them one aspect to focus on to start with will allow them to build the skill without becoming overwhelmed.  After some discussion and collaboration, they are to create a paragraph that describes the entire picture without using any passive verbs.

There is an optional frame for advanced learners, asking them to try and describe the color of the background without using a passive verb, a much trickier practice.  There are some suggestions on a later slide that could be offered to students either before or after they give it a shot, depending on how they are doing with it.

There is also an additional slide that a teacher could use to have their students practice these skills even more.  There is another picture from the TWP website that would be good to describe using active verbs.  This would be conducive to a longer class period or some independent practice on a different day.

As another extension, students can go back and look at a piece of writing that they had already written.  They can underline five examples of passive verbs in their writing that they can change to active verbs.  They can then write another draft of that piece that has fewer passive verbs and more active verbs.

To help summarize the points in the lesson, students can create an exit ticket answering the following questions:

• What is the difference between a passive verb and an active verb?
• Change this sentence so that it uses an active verb: I am scared.