10 Verbs Our Grammar Guru Is Obsessed With
On this next (and final) installment of 10 Awesome Words, Grammar Guru covers some fantastic VERBS to add to your vocab!
StyleBlueprint’s Grammar Guru has shared ten adjectives and ten nouns she is obsessed with, and today she’s back with the final episode of this three-part series. Here are ten impressive, useful VERBS to add to your conversation, work correspondence, and online interactions.
Cajole
MEANING: persuade someone to do something by sustained coaxing or flattery
EXAMPLE: My husband cajoled me into coming to his work event when he mentioned the four-course meal and live music.
SIMILAR WORD: coax
Carouse
MEANING: drink plentiful amounts of alcohol and enjoy oneself in a communal, noisy, lively way; engage in drunken revelry; engage in boisterous merrymaking
EXAMPLE: Carousing with my long-distance friends in town was worth the slight hangover.
SIMILAR WORDS: party, revel, binge, roister
Divulge
MEANING: make secret or private information known
Sometimes I use divulge in a similar way to babble, but most of the time, it implies a more careful imparting of knowledge to a small group of trusted people.
EXAMPLE: After one glass of wine, my grandmother starts divulging family secrets.
SIMILAR WORDS: reveal, disclose, impart
Ensnare
MEANING: catch or get control of something or someone in an unpleasant way; make something or someone unable to escape
If you’re ensnared in something, it’s never good. You’re trapped physically (like in traffic) or emotionally (like in a relationship).
EXAMPLE: Salespeople ensnare vacation-goers into suffocating timeshare contracts.
SIMILAR WORDS: catch, capture, trap, entrap
Exacerbate
MEANING: make an already unpleasant situation or feeling worse; make more violent, bitter, or severe
EXAMPLE: Once the kids were caught cheating on a quiz, lying about the details only exacerbated their punishment.
SIMILAR WORDS: irritate, aggravate, exasperate, embitter
Forage
MEANING: to wander or search widely for food or provisions; to collect or look around for something (usually a specific something).
This can be a noun (meaning fodder for animals), but I love the verb form. It’s gained popularity alongside the activity of mushroom foraging.
EXAMPLE: Truffle foraging relies mainly on well-trained dogs to dig them up.
SIMILAR WORDS: scrounge, comb, hunt, search
Galvanize
MEANING: to stimulate or excite as if by an electric shock;
This fabulous verb means to cause someone (or a group of people) to become so excited by or concerned about something that they spring into action and want to do something about it.
EXAMPLE: The sold-out benefit concert galvanized support around the cause.
SIMILAR WORDS: excite, stir, jolt, shock, impel
Gesticulate
MEANING: use dramatic, sweeping gestures instead of speaking or to emphasize one’s words
Someone who gesticulates talks with their hands. They’re expressive in an excited, eager, or (sometimes) manic way.
EXAMPLE: The coach gesticulated wildly at the referee after an iffy call.
SIMILAR WORDS: gesture, wave, motion
Postulate
MEANING: suggest or assume the existence, fact, or truth of something as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or belief; to assume or claim as true, existent, or necessary
Though this word is typically used in formal, academic settings, use it in daily life to sound smart!
EXAMPLE: He postulated that going out to dinner is the best way to not dirty our just-cleaned kitchen.
SIMILAR WORDS: suggest, posit, hypothesize, assume, presume
Vacillate
MEANING: waver in mind, will, or feeling; hesitate in choice of opinions or courses
Physically, this can mean to sway, oscillate, or move unsteadily, but I love it in a decision-making context. You’re vacillating if you’re taking time to weigh some worthy options. It can connote indecision, but it’s smarter indecision than just being wishy-washy about something.
EXAMPLE: I vacillated between the two job offers for a week before deciding.
SIMILAR WORDS: waver, hesitate
These explanations were sourced from Grammarly, Oxford Language, Merriam-Webster, and my own understanding. If you have some favorite words to share or a grammar topic you’d like me to cover this year, email me at [email protected]. Revisit my other installments HERE.
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Zoe Yarborough
Zoe is a StyleBlueprint staff writer, Charlotte native, Washington & Lee graduate, and Nashville transplant of eleven years. She teaches Pilates, helps manage recording artists, and likes to "research" Germantown's food scene.