List of Analytical Verbs for Effective Writing

A

Accentuates and accentuating: to emphasise or highlight a particular detail or aspect.

Accepts and accepting: to agree to or acknowledge something.

Achieves and achieving: to successfully bring about or reach a desired outcome.

Adopts and adopting: to take on or accept an idea, strategy, or way of thinking.

Advocates and advocating: to support or argue for something.

Affects and affecting: to influence something or someone.

Alleviates and alleviating: to lessen or reduce something, often a problem or discomfort.

Allows and allowing: to give permission or make possible.

Alludes and alluding: to refer to something indirectly or subtly.

Alters and altering: to change or modify something.

Analyses and analysing: to examine in detail, often to understand or explain.

Approaches and approaching: to come near or examine a subject in a particular way.

Argues and arguing: to present reasoning or evidence for or against something.

Ascertains and ascertaining: to determine or establish something with certainty.

Assesses and assessing: to evaluate or judge the value, quality, or significance of something.

Assumes and assuming: to accept something as true without proof.

Attacks and attacking: to criticise or challenge something or someone harshly.

Attempts and attempting: to make an effort to achieve or reach something.

Attributes and attributing: to regard something as being caused by or belonging to a particular source.

Avoids and avoiding: to deliberately keep away from or prevent something.

B

Bases and basing: to establish or ground something on a particular idea or principle.

Believes and believing: to accept something as true, often without evidence.

C

Centralises and centralising: to bring activities, power, or control under a central authority or location.

Challenges and challenging: to dispute or question the validity of something.

Changes and changing: to make or become different, often in an argument or position.

Characterises and characterising: to describe the distinctive qualities or features of something.

Chooses and choosing: to select or decide on something.

Chronicles and chronicling: to record or describe events in order of occurrence.

Claims and claiming: to state something as a fact, often without proof.

Comments and commenting: to express an opinion or provide feedback on something.

Compares and comparing: to examine two or more elements to highlight similarities or differences.

Compels and compelling: to force or drive someone to act in a certain way.

Completes and completing: to bring something to a state of perfection or fulfillment.

Concerns and concerning: to relate to or be about a particular issue or subject.

Concludes and concluding: to bring something to an end or draw a final decision or judgment.

Condone and condoning: to accept or allow behaviour that is morally wrong or offensive without criticism or punishment.

Conducts and conducting: to carry out or direct an activity, study, or investigation.

Conforms and conforming: to comply or adjust to a standard, rule, or idea.

Confronts and confronting: to face or challenge directly.

Connotes and connoting: to suggest or imply a meaning or idea beyond the literal definition.

Considers and considering: to think carefully about something, especially before making a decision.

Contends and contending: to argue or assert something in a dispute or debate.

Contests and contesting: to challenge or dispute something, often in a formal setting.

Contrasts and contrasting: to compare two or more elements to highlight differences.

Contributes and contributing: to provide input, ideas, or support to a particular cause or effort.

Conveys and conveying: to communicate or express an idea, feeling, or message.

Convinces and convincing: to persuade someone to believe or do something.

D

Defines and defining: to state or explain the meaning of something.

Demonise and demonising: to portray someone or something as wicked or demonic, typically in a way that is exaggerated or unfair.

Defies and defying: to openly resist or refuse to obey something or someone.

Demonstrates and demonstrating: to show or explain something clearly through examples or actions.

Denotes and denoting: to indicate or represent something directly; to have a specific, explicit meaning.

Depicts and depicting: to represent or portray something in a particular way, often visually or descriptively.

Describes and describing: to provide a detailed account of something, often with sensory details.

Delineates and delineating: to describe or portray something precisely, often highlighting boundaries or details.

Details and detailing: to describe something thoroughly, often focusing on specific aspects or elements.

Determines and determining: to establish or conclude something after analysis or investigation.

Develops and developing: to grow or evolve something, often gradually, into a more advanced form.

Deviates and deviating: to stray from an established path, norm, or argument.

Differentiates and differentiating: to distinguish or show the differences between two or more things.

Differs and differing: to be unlike or dissimilar to something else.

Directs and directing: to guide or manage something or someone toward a specific goal or objective.

Discovers and discovering: to find or uncover something, often for the first time.

Discusses and discussing: to talk about or examine a subject in detail.

Displays and displaying: to present or show something in a visible way.

Disputes and disputing: to argue against or contest the validity of something.

Disrupts and disrupting: to interrupt or cause disorder in an established system or process.

Distinguishes and distinguishing: to recognise or mark differences between two or more things.

Distorts and distorting: to twist or misrepresent something, often to alter its original meaning or form.

Downplays and downplaying: to minimise the importance or significance of something.

Dramatises and dramatising: to exaggerate or present something in an overly emotional or theatrical way.

E

Elevates and elevating: to raise something to a higher level or status, often in terms of importance.

Elicits and eliciting: to draw out a response, reaction, or answer from someone.

Emphasises and emphasising: to give special importance or attention to something.

Encounters and encountering: to meet or come into contact with something or someone, often unexpectedly.

Endorses and endorsing: to approve, support, or recommend something or someone publicly.

Enhances and enhancing: to improve or make something better.

Enriches and enriching: to improve the quality or value of something, often by adding new or valuable elements.

Enumerates and enumerating: to list or count something one by one, or to specify things in order.

Envisions and envisioning: to imagine or visualise something in the future or as a possibility.

Epitomise and epitomising: to be a perfect example or representation of a particular quality or type.

Evinces and evincing: to show or demonstrate clearly; to reveal or express (a feeling or quality).

Evokes and evoking: to bring something to mind or elicit a particular response or feeling.

Excludes and excluding: to intentionally leave something out or not consider it.

Exemplifies and exemplifying: to illustrate or clarify something by providing an example; to serve as an example of.

Expands and expanding: to increase in size, scope, or detail.

Experiences and experiencing: to undergo or be exposed to something, often in a personal or direct way.

Explains and explaining: to make something clear or easy to understand.

Explores and exploring: to investigate, study, or examine something in detail, often to uncover new information or understand it better.

Exposes and exposing: to reveal something hidden, often something that is unpleasant or damaging, or to make something known.

Expresses and expressing: to convey thoughts, feelings, or ideas in words or actions.

Extends and extending: to stretch or lengthen something, often beyond its original limits or scope.

Extrapolates and extrapolating: to infer or predict something based on existing data or trends.

Extols and extoling: to praise highly and enthusiastically.

F

Fantasises and fantasising: to imagine or dream about something, often in a fantastical or idealized way.

Focuses and focusing: to concentrate or direct attention toward something specific.

Forces and forcing: to impose or compel something to happen, often against resistance.

Foreshadows and foreshadowing: to suggest or hint at an event or development before it happens.

Functions and functioning: to work or operate in a particular way or for a particular purpose.

G

Generalises and generalising: to make broad statements or conclusions based on limited examples or evidence.

Guides and guiding: to lead or direct someone or something toward a particular outcome.

H

Heightens and heightening: to increase or intensify the degree or impact of something.

Highlights and highlighting: to emphasise or bring attention to a key element or detail.

Hints and hinting: to suggest or imply something in an indirect way.

Holds and holding: to maintain or preserve something in a particular state or form.

Honours and honouring: to regard or treat someone or something with great respect or admiration.

I

Identifies and identifying: to recognize or establish the identity or nature of something.

Illustrates and illustrating: to explain or make something clear by providing examples or visual representation.

Illuminates and illuminating: to provide insight into something, often making it clearer or more understandable.

Imagines and imagining: to form a mental image or conception of something not present or real.

Impels and impelling: to drive or force someone or something to act or move in a particular direction.

Implies and implying: to suggest or hint at something without directly stating it.

Includes and including: to make something part of a whole or consider something as part of a larger group.

Indicates and indicating: to point out or suggest something as a sign, symptom, or result.

Infers and inferring: to deduce or conclude information from evidence or reasoning rather than direct statements.

Inspires and inspiring: to fill someone with the urge or ability to do something creative or positive.

Intends and intending: to have a specific purpose or goal in mind.

Interprets and interpreting: to explain the meaning or significance of something, especially in a different context.

Interrupts and interrupting: to stop or hinder an ongoing action or flow of conversation.

Inundates and inundating: to overwhelm or flood with a large quantity of something.

Inverts and inverting: to reverse the position, order, or condition of something; to turn something upside down or inside out.

J

Justifies and justifying: to provide reasons or arguments in support of something, often to defend its rightness.

Juxtaposes and juxtaposing: to place two or more things together for comparison or contrast, often highlighting differences.

L

Lambasts and lambasting: to criticise or reprimand someone or something severely.

Laments and lamenting: to express sorrow, grief, or regret over something.

Lampoons and lampooning: to mock or ridicule something in a humorous or satirical way.

Lists and listing: to enumerate or describe items in a sequential or organized manner.

M

Maintains and maintaining: to keep something in a certain state or condition; to assert or affirm something.

Makes and making: to create, produce, or cause something to happen.

Manages and managing: to oversee or control the operation or functioning of something.

Manipulates and manipulating: to control or influence something or someone, often in a skilful but deceptive manner.

Marginalise and marginalising: to treat someone or something as insignificant or peripheral; to push to the edges of society or a situation.

Minimises and minimising: to reduce the importance, size, or degree of something.

Moralises and moralising: to express opinions about what is right or wrong, often in a self-righteous manner.

Muses and musing: to reflect or ponder thoughtfully, often in a contemplative or philosophical way.

N

Notes and noting: to observe or record something with attention.

O

Observes and observing: to look at or study something carefully and with attention to detail.

Opposes and opposing: to resist or act in opposition to something.

Organises and organising: to arrange or structure something in a systematic or orderly manner.

Overstates and overstating: to exaggerate or make something seem more significant than it is.

Outlines and outlining: to give a summary or general overview of something, often in key points.

P

Patronises and patronising: to treat someone in a way that seems kind but betrays a sense of superiority.

Performs and performing: to carry out an action, task, or function.

Permits and permitting: to allow something to happen or to give permission for it.

Personifies and personifying: to attribute human characteristics to non-human things or abstract concepts.

Persuades and persuading: to convince someone to believe or do something through reasoning or argument.

Ponders and pondering: to think deeply about something, often in a reflective or uncertain manner.

Portrays and portraying: to depict or represent someone or something in a particular way.

Postulates and postulating: to assume or suggest the truth of something, often as a basis for further argument or investigation.

Prepares and preparing: to get something ready or set for an event or purpose.

Presents and presenting: to offer or show something, often in a formal or structured way.

Presumes and presuming: to assume something to be true based on probability or common sense.

Produces and producing: to create or bring something into existence.

Projects and projecting: to predict or estimate something based on current data or trends.

Promotes and promoting: to encourage or advance something, often through public support or advertising.

Proposes and proposing: to put forward an idea or suggestion for consideration.

Provides and providing: to make available or supply something to someone.

Q

Qualifies and qualifying: to modify or limit something, often in terms of its applicability or scope.

Questions and questioning: to inquire or ask about something, often to probe for more information.

R

Rationalises and rationalising: to offer logical but often self-serving explanations for behaviour or decisions.

Reasons and reasoning: to think logically or systematically in support of a conclusion or argument.

Recalls and recalling: to remember or bring something back to mind.

Recites and reciting: to repeat or list something, often from memory or a prepared script.

Recollects and recollecting: to recall or bring to mind something from the past.

Records and recording: to document or capture something, often in writing or electronically.

Recounts and recounting: to tell or describe in detail an event or experience.

Reflects and reflecting: to think deeply or consider something carefully.

Refers and referring: to mention or direct attention to something.

Regards and regarding: to consider or think about something in a certain way.

Rejects and rejecting: to refuse to accept, believe, or consider something.

Represents and representing: to stand for or symbolize something; to act on behalf of someone or something.

Results and resulting: to come about as a consequence of something.

Reveals and revealing: to make something known or visible that was previously hidden or unknown.

Ridicules and ridiculing: to mock or make fun of something or someone.

S

Satirises and satirising: to mock or criticize something through humour, often to expose flaws or vices.

Scrutinise and scrutinising: to examine something closely and thoroughly, often to detect flaws or details.

Seems and seeming: to give the impression of being or appearing in a particular way.

Selects and selecting: to choose or pick out something from a set of options.

Specifies and specifying: to state or explain something clearly and in detail.

Speculates and speculating: to form a theory or conjecture without sufficient evidence.

States and stating: to express or declare something clearly and definitively.

Strives and striving: to make great efforts or work hard toward a particular goal.

Substantiate and substantiating: to provide evidence or proof to support a claim or argument.

Subvert and subverting: to undermine the authority or power of an established practice or system.

Suggests and suggesting: to propose or recommend an idea or course of action.

Summarises and summarising: to give a brief overview or condensed version of something.

Supplies and supplying: to provide or make available something that is needed.

Supports and supporting: to back up or advocate for something or someone.

Suppresses and suppressing: to prevent or inhibit something from being expressed or revealed.

Symbolises and symbolising: to represent or stand for something else, often an abstract concept.

Sympathises and sympathising: to feel or express compassion or understanding for someone’s situation.

T

Traces and tracing: to follow or outline the development or course of something.

U

Undermine and undermining: to weaken or damage something gradually or covertly; to subvert or erode the foundation of something.

Underscores and underscoring: to draw a line under a word or phrase for emphasise or stress the importance of something.  

Understands and understanding: to grasp the meaning, significance, or nature of something.

Unveil and unveiling: the act of revealing or disclosing something that was previously hidden or unknown, often as a formal presentation or announcement.

V

Vacillates and vacillating: to be indecisive or change one’s mind frequently.

Values and valuing: to regard something as important or beneficial.

Verifies and verifying: to check or confirm the truth, accuracy, or validity of something.