150+ Other Words for “Said” To Supercharge Your Writing

“Dialogue tags” is one of those writerly terms that sounds more complicated than it actually is. You’ve almost certainly used tags (including “said” and all other words for said) in your writing at some point, even if you didn’t realize it consciously!

But how can you really use them when you’re not entirely sure how they work? If that sounds like you, don’t worry; this article will sort you out. Read on for your ultimate guide to dialogue tags — with tips on how to use them in an effective manner and our curated list of 150+ other words for “said.” We’ll actually start with the latter, for those of you who already know how dialogue tags work and are looking for the perfect synonym.

150+ other words for “said”

“Said” is the most common dialogue tag in the English language, and for good reason: it gets the job done. But every so often, you want to kick your writing up a notch with a different tag — that’s where this list comes in! Here are 150+ other words for said, divided by emotion and/or conversational context to help you find the right word.

Or, if you want to take it with you, click on the “Infographic” section in the table of contents (to your left) and download a list of all these words for free! Without further ado, here is a veritable mountain of words to use instead of said.

Neutral words

Each of these words is basically a like-for-like replacement for “said.”

• Added

• Agreed

• Announced

• Articulated

• Asserted

• Began

• Called

• Commented

• Confirmed

• Considered

• Declared

• Echoed

• Ended

• Mentioned

• Noted

• Observed

• Pronounced

• Reckoned

• Related

• Remarked

• Repeated

• Replied

• Responded

• Stated

• Told

• Uttered

• Voiced

Happy words

For when you need to inject some enthusiasm or excitement into your character’s speech!

• Approved

• Babbled

• Beamed

• Bubbled

• Cheered

• Chortled

• Chuckled

• Congratulated

• Complimented

• Crooned

• Effused

• Exclaimed

• Giggled

• Grinned

• Gushed

• Jabbered

• Joked

• Laughed

• Praised

• Sang

• Smiled

• Thanked

• Trilled

Sad words

Sometimes “said” just can’t quite capture a character’s disappointment or distress.

• Agonized

• Apologized

• Bawled

• Blubbered

• Cried

• Fretted

• Groaned

• Lamented

• Moaned

• Mumbled

• Sobbed

• Sighed

• Sniffled

• Wailed

• Wept

Angry words

These tags help capture a character’s capacity for rage.

• Accused

• Badgered

• Barked

• Bellowed

• Chastised

• Cursed

• Dared

• Exploded

• Fumed

• Growled

• Hissed

• Insulted

• Raged

• Roared

• Scolded

• Screamed

• Shouted

• Swore

• Thundered

• Yelled

Annoyed words

A character might speak in this way if they’re irritated for some reason.

• Bleated

• Complained

• Groused

• Grumbled

• Grunted

• Mocked

• Rasped

• Smirked

• Whined

Frightened or pained words

All characters experience fear or pain at some point — when that’s the case, use these tags.

• Gulped

• Howled

• Panted

• Prayed

• Quavered

• Screamed

• Shrieked

• Squeaked

• Squaled

• Wailed

• Whimpered

• Yelped

Prideful words

Let your character be proud once in awhile with these tags.

• Boasted

• Boomed

• Bragged

• Crowed

• Drawled

• Gloated

Words that express uncertainty

These tags help convey a character’s uncertainty.

• Breathed

• Hesitated

• Mumbled

• Murmured

• Stammered

• Stuttered

• Vacillated

• Whispered

Words that make fun

For when a character’s mean-spirited side rears its head.

• Mocked

• Ridiculed

• Scorned

• Snickered

• Teased

• Taunted

Words that indicate a question

Use these when your character is asking something.

• Asked

• Challenged

• Doubted

• Inquired

• Guessed

• Hypothesized

• Mouthed

• Mused

• Probed

• Puzzled

• Queried

• Questioned

• Quizzed

• Speculated

• Wondered

Words that indicate an answer

Use these when your character is answering a question.

• Advised

• Answered

• Assured

• Conceded

• Confirmed

• Explained

• Disclosed

• Divulged

• Informed

• Interjected

• Indicated

• Maintained

• Notified

• Offered

• Promised

• Reported

• Revealed

• Shared

Now let’s talk about dialogue tags as a whole…

While alternative tags like these can be helpful, you don’t want to overuse them — this can all too easily lead to overly ornate travesties of dialogue. So how do you know exactly which dialogue tags to use and where?

This leads into our next section: how to use these other words for “said,” as well as dialogue tags in general.

How to use dialogue tags

1. “Said” is still your best friend

As we mentioned, there are plenty of “said” synonyms that you can use when tagging, but that doesn’t always mean you should. “Said” is a staple of dialogue tags for a number of reasons: it’s short, it’s simple, and it doesn’t distract too much from the dialogue.

Basically, it gets the job done, making it the ideal accompaniment for 90% of your characters’ conversations. One of the biggest misconceptions about dialogue tags, especially among inexperienced writers, is that every tag phrase should include a different verb. Such tactics result in passages like this:

This level of specificity is clearly unnecessary. You can already tell from what they’re saying how these characters are speaking; the verbs clobber you over the head with it. You might end up using one of these tags in the final passage, but you certainly wouldn’t want to use all three.

That’s why the word “said” is your best friend. Again, 90% of the time, “said” is all you need for your dialogue tags. The other 10% of the time, try neutral alternatives like “asked” and “replied” that also won’t distract your reader too much. Only use a powerful tag when you want to make an exceptionally powerful statement! Needless to say, if every tag is super-descriptive, they lose a great deal of their impact.

2. If not “said,” make sure the other word fits perfectly

During a particularly exciting or dramatic scene, you may want to use an alternative tag to highlight it. However, if you use a strong verb in a dialogue tag, make sure that it precisely matches the tone of the character’s speech.

This is where our list really comes in handy — it’s arranged so you know exactly which words to use in which situation. In any case, this tip might sound obvious, but editors can attest that odd verbs in dialogue tags are all too common. For example:

This might seem like a good place for a character to exclaim since we know that means saying something loudly. However, the connotations of “exclaim” are a bit murkier — an exclamation is usually a shout of surprise, but not necessarily a negative one. Someone might exclaim, “Happy birthday!” or “What a beautiful rainbow!”

So is this really the best word to reflect the feeling of that statement? Probably not. Better tags might be:

• “I never want to see you again!” he bellowed.

• “I never want to see you again!” he roared.

• “I never want to see you again!” he snarled.

Any of these verbs would stay true to the tone of the dialogue, effectively emphasizing its message. But remember, you just want to emphasize, not clobber. The key to unusual dialogue tags is moderation.

“I compare alternate dialogue tags to a strong spice,” says Ryan Lanz, who runs the writing craft blog A Writer’s Path. “A little is nice, but too much will spoil the batch. If the flavor is too powerful, it tugs the reader away from the story.”

3. Insert them only when necessary

Speaking of over-seasoning, not only should you keep other words for “said” to a minimum, but you should try to minimize dialogue tags in general. You don’t need a new one every time someone speaks, especially if it’s a two-person conversation:

Even using the simple tag “said” starts to get distracting when it’s repeated over and over. In situations like this, unless the conversation continues for an unusually long time, you really only need a single dialogue tag at the beginning. After that, the reader can follow it themselves, as long as they know which characters are present.

More than two people talking

It gets a bit more complicated when there are three or more people talking to each other. In this case, you want to use a distinct dialogue tag for every person at least once. Then try to make the content of the conversation clear enough that the reader can still track it without too much difficulty.

Of course, the cardinal rule of dialogue tags is to always make clear who’s speaking. Sometimes this can be hard, especially in scenes with many characters or when something chaotic is happening.

If you’re trying to use tags sparingly but you find that only makes your dialogue more confusing, go ahead and place them wherever seems necessary. Ideally, you’d use as few dialogue tags as possible, but it’s better to overdo it on the tags than for the reader to have no idea who’s speaking.

4. Experiment with placement

This is something you can do to keep your dialogue tags fresh and interesting without resorting to overblown verbs. Though so far we’ve only used tags at the end of the dialogue, you can also put them at the beginning or in the middle! It requires slightly different punctuation, but pretty much all you need to do is re-order your original phrase to accomplish this.

Let’s return to our very first example: “I can’t wait to read this article,” Rita said. This could become:

Or, if you want it to sound more dramatic:

Again, it’s an easy fix for repetitive tags. Try to stay conscious of how you’re using them, and if you find that too many of your “he said, she said”s (so to speak) are landing at the end of your dialogue, feel free to mix it up!

5. Use description as dialogue tags

The final way to create dialogue tags in your writing is: don’t use them at all. Or rather, use something else to serve the same function — specifically, description.

Using the description to indicate who’s speaking is a subtle yet powerful means of tagging your dialogue. Experienced writers employ this technique frequently, and anyone can do so once they understand how! Here’s an example of how a description might be used as a dialogue tag:

We can clearly tell that Sara is the one talking based on the description: it’s all about her and what she’s doing. In the end, we also get a subject for her to address (Sam).

You can also put the dialogue first, followed by the description to clarify:

Or you can even have the description in the middle of two pieces of dialogue:

Basically, you can put this descriptive “tag” anywhere you want in relation to the dialogue: before, after, or in the middle. As long as there’s something to demonstrate who’s speaking, as well as to what or whom they’re referring, that’s all you need.

Takeaways

Dialogue tags are a vital tool that every writer should know how to use correctly. Hopefully, this post has helped you understand how to use tags to clarify who’s speaking, as well as how to avoid distracting from what’s being said. Remember, the dialogue is the crown jewel here — but the tag is the solid pedestal that keeps it from falling.