Thread: Different Ways to Say "Said"

In writing, there often comes the trouble of replacing the word "said" with something to convey more feeling or emotion, or just to avoid repetition of the same word. So for all the writers I offer a list of numerous ways to say "said" in your writing.

A

announced
awed
accused
assured
apologized
addressed
asked
advised
answered
added
agreed
argued
assisted
affirmed
acknowledged
applauded
advocated

B

belched
beseeched
boomed
bellowed
bowed
boasted
began
begged
beamed
butted-in
bantered

C

contested
countered
croaked
consoled
chorused
complained
corrected
championed
cheered
cried
complemented
calculated
cackled
cautioned
continued
commented
conceded
complained

D

declared
drawled
dribbled
dismissed
demanded
denied
decided

E

eased
egged
exclaimed
excused
encouraged
enthused
ejaculated
effervesced
enticed
echoed

F

frowned
finished
fidgeted
fumbled
fumed

G

greeted
grinned
gulped
grumbled
groaned
giggled
gasped
glowered
gurgled
gleamed
guessed
guffawed
gawped

H

hissed
hoped
hailed
humored
hesitated
hollered

I

indicated
inquired
informed
interrupted
insisted
instructed

L

laughed
lisped
lumbered

M

muttered
moaned
mumbled
maintained
motioned
murmured
mentioned

N

nodded
noticed

O

offered
observed
objected
oscillated

P

panted
pondered
panicked
puzzled
protested
pressed
piped up
proffered
pleaded
pardoned
postulated
proclaimed

Q

questioned

R

rambled
returned
repeated
responded
ranted
raved
relented
rescinded
released
requested

S

slurped
sneered
slurred
smirked
snorted
stared
smiled
spoke
stormed
sang
shouted
screamed
squealed
scolded
shuddered
sighed
smarted
stated
suggested
spluttered
snapped
snarled
stressed
shrilled
stammered
screeched
summarized
shuffled
sobbed
sniffed
shrieked
swayed

T

tutted
threatened
teased
tittered
taunted

U

urged
ushered
uttered

V

ventured
vacillated

W

wondered
winked
worried
whinged
whined
wittered
warned
whispered
winced
waved
wailed

Y

yelled
yodeled

Continually avoiding the use of "said" in favor of more...um...colorful dialogue tags is the mark of a beginner. Don't do it!

That's not to say that you shouldn't sometimes use other tags for emphasis. Just don't make it a habit.

There's a kind of joke called a "Tom Swiftie", which makes fun of writing that actively avoids using the word "said".

You might want to read this to find out more about them.

They can be quite good fun.

Originally Posted by Julianne

Continually avoiding the use of "said" in favor of more...um...colorful dialogue tags is the mark of a beginner. Don't do it!

That's not to say that you shouldn't sometimes use other tags for emphasis. Just don't make it a habit.

It's true. Thats one of the first things I'd learned about dialogue. You shouldn't rely on those words to better illustrate how someone is talking. You can get your point across without using them.
I'm not eligable to talk about much of writing, especially of experience or success. I'm just relaying what I've learned.

"Said."

"Says."

All I ever need.

Unpack the emotion, feeling, tone, whatever. Don't put it into one word.

Oh yeah?

"My underwear is missing!" Sam yodeled.

Or, in a more Tom Swiftly manner:

"My underwear are gone!" bawled Tom.

Besides, 'said' is almost invisible in writing. Think of your favourite book with dialog. Did you notice excessive use of said? Now go & look at it. You will find 'said' liberaaly used - you just don't register it when you read unless the writing is crap.

This isn't my opinion, this is tested & proven

Often times, you don't even need to use anything at all, unless of course you need to clarify who is actually speaking.

I typically use said/says once for each character at the beginning of the conversation, and then from there keep to just the actual words.

great list! I hate abusing the poor word 'said'

That's a good list and it's helped me.

"Said" abuse is nowhere near as bad as thesaural abuse.

added to the other valid objections above, is that most of the words on that list won't work as dialog tags, because they don't equal 'said' at all and can't logically go with words that are spoken... such as, 'belched'... a belch is a sound, and no one can speak 'in belches'...

nor can words be 'applauded' out of someone's mouth, or 'shuddered'...

imo, it's doing a disservice to new/beginning writers to tell them it's ok to stray so far from the tried and true, professional writer's 'said'... an occasional use of a valid alternative is ok, but to say all those examples can be used effectively is not good advice...

i'm sure you meant well, yrael, but i have to agree with all the dissenters above...

hugs, maia

Um, small point maia, but most guys will tell you it is perfectly possible to speak in burps; we've even had comps to see who can say the most of the alphabet in one burp... *trails off, looks around...* or is that just me?

watch it, mark!... some kids might take you seriously... or, d'ya think he should add 'farted' to that list, too?