There are a lot of synonyms for “said” that you can use to convey the emotions or intentions of a character in dialogue, but you don’t necessarily have to use some flowery synonym for “said” every time you include a piece of dialogue in creative writing. That’s why “said” is the best choice for introducing quotes or paraphrases in technical writing: it’s clear, specific, and concise.Ĭreative writing is a third situation that might require you to think strategically about when to use “said.” In creative writing-like fiction, for instance-when and how often to use “said” is pretty much up for debate.

In fact, readers of technical writing appreciate a writer’s ability to communicate directly and plainly by using short, direct words.

It’s important for this style of writing to be clear, specific, and, in most cases, concise. Technical writing is a style of writing used in business environments and some scientific fields, like engineering.

While not exactly a rule, using “said” is an unspoken expectation for quote attribution in technical writing. Using “said” allows the journalist to remain impartial and objective about the information, and it also lets readers interpret the meaning of quoted material on their own. “Said” just states factual information: the words in the quote were spoken by a person or group of people. Unlike many synonyms for “said,” which reveal a speaker’s feelings, attitude, or intentions, “said” doesn’t try to interpret the feelings, attitude, or intentions of the speaker. Impartiality and objectivity are two values that are extremely important in journalistic writing. AP Style provides a lot of rules about grammar, spelling, punctuation, and language use, and using “said” for quote attribution is one of those rules. This includes writing for newspapers, magazines, and public relations in the United States. “AP” stands for “Associated Press,” and this set of style guidelines is the standard for journalistic writing. The first situation where you can expect to see writers exclusively using “said” is in any type of writing that relies on AP Style. This depends on the type of writing, so we’re going to break down the situations when you should definitely use “said” here! But there are actually some situations when it’s correct to use “said” exclusively to attribute a piece of dialogue or a quote in your writing. In most cases, deciding when to use words other than “said” in your writing is up to your discretion. When to Use Different Words for “Said” in Your Writing.And When Not To We’re going to kick off our list by giving you a lot of other words for “said” by emotion, starting with synonyms for “said” that convey a happy, joyful, or positive tone. You can decide what meaning you’re trying to express in your writing, and use our lists accordingly! To give you the most comprehensive and easy-to-navigate list, we’ve organized our list into two main categories: first, we’re including several lists of other words for “said” by emotion, and second, we’re including several lists of different words for “said” by intention or action.

Ready to check out some synonyms for “said”? Then let’s get going!

Provide a comprehensive list of alternative words for “said,” organized into categories based on emotion and intention.

Explain when to use “said” and when not to use “said”.

Explain the importance of using word variety and avoiding repetition of the same word in your writing.

To help you build a repertoire of words to replace “said,” we’re going to do the following in this article: But here’s some good news: there are tons of other words for “said” out there for you to use! Repeating the same phrase in a piece of writing can start to feel monotonous, which is why incorporating synonyms or an oft-used word or phrase can make your writing more interesting and accurate. One of the words that comes up most commonly in various types of writing, from fiction to academic writing, is the word “said.” Any time a writer is referencing the words or thoughts expressed by another person, whether that be thoughts expressed verbally or in writing, an appropriate way to introduce-or attribute-that person’s thoughts is with the phrase “said.”īut if you’re incorporating a lot of quotations in your writing, you might find yourself repeating the word “said” a lot.

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