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Jon Morrow is a famous blogger who recently compiled an impressive list of 600+ power words — words cherry-picked to give your readers an emotional response. In a way, his article is similar to my own Emotional Beats, only he’s focusing on words rather than phrases:

Power words are persuasive, emotional words that trigger a positive or negative response. They can make us feel scared, encouraged, aroused, angry, greedy, safe, or curious. Authors, copywriters, and content marketers use “power words” to spice up their content and compel audiences to take action.

While Jon is focusing on words for blog posts, they can just as easily be used in fiction, blurbs, or Ad copy.

I have copied here just the power words but you should check out his original post, as he has tons of great examples–and the words available as a free pdf.

Fear Power Words

Are you a suspense writer? Then you’ll love these!

Agony
Apocalypse
Armageddon
Assault
Backlash
Beating
Beware
Blinded
Blood
Bloodbath
Bloodcurdling
Bloody
Blunder
Bomb
Buffoon
Bumbling
Cadaver
Catastrophe
Caution
Collapse
Corpse
Crazy
Cripple
Crisis
Danger
Dark
Deadly
Death
Deceiving
Destroy
Devastating
Disastrous
Doom
Drowning
Dumb
Embarrass
Fail
Feeble
Fired
Fool
Fooled
Frantic
Frightening
Gambling
Gullible
Hack
Hazardous
Hoax
Holocaust
Horrific
Hurricane
Injure
Insidious
Invasion
IRS
Jail
Jeopardy
Lawsuit
Lunatic
Lurking
Massacre
Meltdown
Menacing
Mired
Mistake
Murder
Nightmare
Painful
Pale
Panic
Peril
Piranha
Pitfall
Plague
Played
Plummet
Plunge
Poison
Poor
Prison
Pummel
Pus
Reckoning
Refugee
Revenge
Risky
Scary
Scream
Searing
Shame
Shatter
Shellacking
Shocked
Silly
Slaughter
Slave
Strangle
Stupid
Suicide
Tailspin
Tank
Targeted
Teetering
Terror
Terrorist
Torture
Toxic
Tragedy
Trap
Vaporize
Victim
Volatile
Vulnerable
Warning
Worry
Wounded

Encouragement Power Words

Especially useful for those of you who write inspirational non-fiction.

Amazing
Ascend
Astonishing
Astounding
Audacious
Awe-inspiring
Awesome
Backbone
Badass
Beat
Belief
Blissful
Bravery
Breathtaking
Brilliant
Celebrate
Cheer
Colossal
Command
Conquer
Courage
Daring
Defeat
Defiance
Delight
Devoted
Dignity
Dominate
Effortless
Empower
Epic
Excellent
Excited
Extraordinary
Eye-opening
Fabulous
Faith
Fantastic
Fearless
Ferocious
Fierce
Force
Fulfill
Glorious
Glory
Graceful
Grateful
Grit
Guts
Happy
Heart
Hero
Honor
Hope
Incredible
Jubilant
Legend
Life-changing
Magic
Marvelous
Master
Mind-blowing
Miracle
Miraculous
Noble
Perfect
Persuade
Phenomenal
Pluck
Power-up
Praise
Prevail
Remarkable
Revel
Rule
Score
Seize
Sensational
Spectacular
Spine
Spirit
Splendid
Spunk
Staggering
Strengthen
Striking
Strong
Stunning
Stunt
Supreme
Surprising
Terrific
Thrive
Thwart
Titan
Tough
Triumph
Tremendous
Unbeatable
Unbelievable
Unforgettable
Unique
Unleash
Uplifting
Valiant
Valor
Vanquish
Victory
Win
Wonderful
Wondrous

Lust Power Words

Perfect for romance book marketing/writing purposes!

Allure
Arouse
Bare
Begging
Beguiling
Brazen
Captivating
Charm
Cheeky
Climax
Crave
Delight
Delirious
Depraved
Desire
Dirty
Divine
Ecstasy
Embrace
Enchant
Enthralling
Entice
Entrance
Excite
Explicit
Exposed
Fascinate
Forbidden
Frisky
Goosebumps
Hanker
Heavenly
Hottest
Hypnotic
Impure
Indecent
Intense
Intoxicating
Itching
Juicy
Kinky
Kiss
Lascivious
Lewd
Lick
Lonely
Longing
Love
Lure
Luscious
Lush
Lust
Mischievous
Mouth-watering
Naughty
Nude
Obscene
Orgasmic
Passionate
Pining
Pleasure
Provocative
Racy
Raunchy
Risque
Rowdy
Salacious
Satisfy
Saucy
Scandalous
Seduce
Seductive
Sensual
Sex
Shameless
Sinful
Sleazy
Sleeping
Spank
Spellbinding
Spicy
Steamy
Stimulating
Strip
Sweaty
Tantalizing
Taste
Tawdry
Tease
Tempting
Thrilling
Tickle
Tight
Tingle
Turn on
Unabashed
Uncensored
Untamed
Untouched
Urge
Voluptuous
Vulgar
Wanton
Wet
Whip
Wild
X-rated
Yearning
Yummy

Anger Power Words

Read any politician’s speech and you’re sure to find at least a few of these…

Abhorrent
Abuse
Annoying
Arrogant
Ass kicking
Backstabbing
Barbaric
Bash
Beat down
Big-mouth
Blatant
Brutal
Bullsht
Bully
Cheat
Clobber
Clown
Cocky
Corrupt
Coward
Crooked
Crush
Curse
Debase
Defile
Delinquent
Demolish
Desecrate
Disgusting
Dishonest
Distorted
Evil
Exploit
Force-fed
Foul
Freaking out
Full of sht
Greedy
Gross
Harass
Hate
High and mighty
Horrid
Infuriating
Jackass
Kick
Kill
Knock
Knock out
Know it all
Lies
Livid
Loathsome
Loser
Lying
Maul
Money-grubbing
Nasty
Nazi
No good
Obnoxious
Oppressive
Pain in the ass
Payback
Perverse
Pesky
Pest
Phony
Pissed off
Pollute
Pompous
Pound
Preposterous
Pretentious
Punch
Punish
Rampant
Ravage
Repelling
Repugnant
Revile
Revolting
Rotten
Rude
Ruined
Ruthless
Savage
Scam
Scold
Sick and tired
Sink
Slam
Slander
Slap
Slay
Smash
Smear
Smug
Sniveling
Snob
Snooty
Snotty
Spoil
Stuck up
Suck
Terrorize
Trash
Trounce
Tyranny
Underhanded
Up to here
Useless
Violate

Greed Power Words

These are particularly useful for marketing purposes, as they let you connect with your readers’ need to save (or make) money.

Bank
Bargain
Best
Billion
Bonanza
Booked solid
Cash
Cheap
Costly
Discount
Dollar
Double
Explode
Extra
Feast
Fortune
Free
Freebie
Frenzy
Frugal
Gift
Golden
Greatest
High-paying
Jackpot
Lowest price
Luxurious
Marked down
Massive
Money
Money-draining
Money-saving
Nest egg
Pay zero
Prize
Profit
Quadruple
Reduced
Rich
Savings
Six-figure
Skyrocket
Soaring
Surge
Treasure
Triple
Waste
Wealth
Whopping

Safety Power Words

These, too, can be pretty useful for your book marketing, as they let your readers feel safe in your hands.

Above and beyond
Anonymous
Authentic
Automatic
Backed
Bankable
Best-selling
Cancel anytime
Certified
Clockwork
Endorsed
Foolproof
Guaranteed
Ironclad
Legitimate
Lifetime
Money-back
No obligation
No questions asked
No risk
No strings attached
No-fail
Official
Privacy
Professional
Protected
Proven
Recession-proof
Refund
Reliable
Research
Results
Risk-free
Rock-solid
Science-backed
Scientific
Secure
Sure-fire
Survive
Tested
That never fails
Thorough
Trustworthy
Try before you buy
Unconditional
Verify
World-class

Forbidden Power Words

These words create a sense of foreboding, perfect for fantasy or suspense writers.

Ancient
Backdoor
Banned
Behind the scenes
Black Market
Blacklisted
Bootleg
Censored
Classified
Cloak and dagger
Concealed
Confessions
Confidential
Controversial
Covert
Cover-up
Exotic
Forbidden
Forgotten
From the vault
Hidden
Hush-hush
Illegal
Insider
Lost
Never seen before
Off the record
Off-limits
Outlawed
Private
Restricted
Sealed
Secret
Smuggled
Strange
Tried to hide
Unauthorized
Uncensored
Under wraps
Undercover
Underground
Under-the-table
Undisclosed
Unexpected
Unlock
Unreachable
Unspoken
Unveiled
Withheld

These were just the power words. Jon’s Jon’s original post, you will find some excellent examples of how to use them, plus the full list available as a free pdf.

The original date for this post was on the 7th but the recent shootings in the US made me so sad I moved the date. America, I love you, but you’re broken.

600+ Power Words

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