Speech verbs List

Here is a list of speech verbs for your enjoyment, now with brief definitions, linking back to this article for tips on use:

[Here for resources? See also: Movement Verbs List]

Address – talk formally to

Admit – confess to be true

Advise – offer suggestions/recommend

Agree – give consent/concur

Analyse – examine intellectually

Announce – publicly declare

Answer – respond to a question

Appeal – make a serious request

Argue – disagree

Articulate – put into words

Ask – make a request

Assure – to dispel doubts

Babble – speak rapidly/incomprehensibly

Bark – talk roughly/shout

Bawl – shout noisily

Beg – plead/make a humiliating request

Bellow – shout forcefully

Bemoan – complain in specific reference to something

Blabber – talk unreservedly/tactlessly

Blather – talk a lot with little sense

Bleat – reveal loudly/moan like a sheep

Blubber – talk in sobs

Bluff – misdirect/pretend

Blurt – suddenly reveal/speak out

Bluster – talk aggressively but ineffectually

Boast – talk in a self-aggrandising way

Brag – as above

Breathe – respire/whisper

Cackle – an ugly laugh

Call – garner attention by speaking loudly/clearly

Chant – speak tonally/rhythmically 

Chatter – talk trivially

Check – confirm information

Cheer – shout in encouragement/support/joy

Chime – be in agreement/harmonising

Chirp – talked tunefully, like a bird

Chirrup – as above

Chortle – a gleeful laugh

Chuckle – as above

Clarify – make understood

Cluck – talk like a chicken

Coax – gradually persuade

Comment – add opinion/react

Complain – state a grievance

Concede – admit to a truth/surrender/give in

Confess – admit a crime/transgression

Confide – share a secret in confidence

Confirm – corroborate a fact

Consent – give permission

Convey – express/illustrate

Coo – talk in pleasant, babyish tones

Correct – put an error right 

Couch – suggest in a specific way

Cough – clear the throat

Critique – criticise in an analytical way

Crow – to exult/boast

Cry – yell/sob/shout

Decide – make a choice/resolution

Declare – announce publicly

Delineate – describe precisely 

Demand – insist upon something

Describe – give an account of

Disagree – express an opposing opinion

Drawl – talk in a sloppy/lazy way

Drone – talk in a monotonous/uninteresting way

Entreat – ask in earnest

Exclaim – suddenly cry out

Expand – talk at further length/in further detail

Explain – make something clear with details

Express – convey something

Falter – speak hesitantly

Forward – make a suggestion/pass a message on

Fuss – make a big deal of something

Giggle – laugh childishly

Goad – annoy/provoke

Groan – talk with complaining intonation

Grumble – complain lowly

Growl – talk aggressively low/threateningly

Grunt – short guttural sound

Hint – give clues to something

Hiss – speak aggressively/sibilantly like a snake

Holler – shout/yell

Hoot – speak with laughter/joy/derision

Howl – cry in pain/cry in hilarity

Hum – speak tunefully

Illustrate – explain with examples

Implore – plead in earnest

Inform – relate new information

Insist – demand forcefully

Interrupt – interject while someone else is talking/something’s happening

Intimate – communicate delicately/indirectly

Intone – talk monotonously

Jabber – talk rapidly, senselessly

Jibber – as above

Judge – form an opinion/conclusion

Laud – praise/exalt

Laugh – convulse reaction to humour

Lecture – talk highhandedly/pompously

Lie – tell an untruth

Maintain – persevere with an opinion or version of events

Mention – refer/allude to something briefly

Mislead – purposefully give the wrong impression

Moan – complain in annoying tones

Mouth – form words silently

Mumble – speak lowly/indistinctly

Murmur – as above

Mutter – speak lowly/indistinctly as if to oneself

Nag – complain continuously and annoyingly

Narrate – tell a story

Observe – point out something based on visual evidence

Offer – present something to someone

Order – command/dictate

Outline – give a brief idea of

Pant – breathe heavily

Parrot – repeat brainlessly

Persuade – convince with reason

Pester – harrass/annoy

Plead – petition earnestly

Prattle – talk foolishly

Preach – talk highhandedly/condescendingly/piously

Proclaim – officially announce

Profess – assert openly

Proffer – propose/offer

Pronounce – declare/speak highly clearly

Purr – talk sensually/like a content cat

Query – question/enquire

Question – interrogate/doubt the veracity of something

Quote – repeat something said by someone else

Ramble – talk in a longwinded manner

Rant – talk in a beligerent, complaining manner 

Recommend – suggest as a good option

Recount – tell the story of something that happened

Rebuff – reject abruptly

Refuse – reject/deny

Rejoin – add another point to the discussion

Remonstrate – protest forcefully/reproachfully

Repeat – say again

Reply – respond to something

Report – give an account of

Respond – reply to something

Retort – respond wittily/standoffishly 

Reveal – relate unknown information

Roar – bellow like a large animal

Sass – talk cheekily/rudely

Say – express in words

Scream – yell high-pitched in pain/fear

Screech – yell ear-piercingly

Scold – tell off

Shout – say in a loud voice, often angrily or to attract attention

Shriek – high-pitched wail

Sing – pronounce words tunefully/rhythmically

Simper – say in a sexual/coquettish way

Sigh – an exhalation of regret

Slur – talk unclearly, with merging words

Snap – respond with sudden anger

Snarl – talk aggressively, in an animalistic way

Snicker – laugh mockingly

Sniff – a haughty, nasal response

Snigger – as snicker

Snivel – sniff pathetically

Sob – cry wholeheartedly

Speak – say something

Spit – say bitterly

Spout – express opinions in an unreflecting way

Sputter – speak hesitantly

Squawk – speak brashly like a large bird

Squeak – speak in a small, high-pitched voice like a small rodent

Squeal – speak high-pitched/exuberantly/in pain

Stammer – talk falteringly

State – express plainly

Stutter – talk falteringly, tripping over words

Submit – present for examination

Suggest – give a recommendation/opinion

Summarise – restate the main points

Summon – call to/invoke

Surmise – make a conclusion/supposition

Table – present an idea

Tattle – inform upon, usual over a triviality

Taunt – provoke mockingly

Tease – lightly provoke mockingly

Tell – inform

Trill – speak high-pitched and quavering

Twitter – talk trivially/like a bird

Urge – advise insistently

Upbraid – rebuke

Vocalise – put into voice/song

Vociferate – complain loudly/strongly

Voice – put into words

Wail – cry sorrowfully

Warble – vocalise quaveringly

Weep – cry deeply and sincerely

Whimper – cry pathetically

Whine – moan annoyingly

Whisper –  speak quietly, without using vocal chords

Whistle – high-pitched noise created by blowing air

Wonder – consider without knowing

Yammer – speak in a loud, repetitive way

Yap – complain like a small, annoying dog

Yell – shout

Yelp – brief, high-pitched expression of pain

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