Powerful Action Verbs
These action verbs will help to describe your skills and accomplishments when writing the first draft of your personal statement – use these verbs to make admission officers take notice.
a - b — c — d — e — f — g — h — i — j — k — l
m — n — o — p — q — r — s — t — u — v — w
Action Verbs beginning with A Back to top
- Accelerated
- Accomplished
- Achieved
- Acted
- Activated
- Adapted
- Addressed
- Adjusted
- Administered
- Advanced
- Advertised
- Advised
- Advocated
- Aided
- Allocated
- Analysed
- Answered
- Applied
- Appraised
- Approved
- Arbitrated
- Arranged
- Ascertained
- Assembled
- Assessed
- Assigned
- Assisted
- Attained
- Augmented
- Authorised
- Awarded
Action Verbs Beginning with B Back to top
- Balanced
- Began
- Boosted
- Briefed
- Budgeted
- Built
Action Verbs beginning with C Back to top
- Calculated
- Captured
- Catalogued
- Centralised
- Chaired
- Charted
- Checked
- Clarified
- Classified
- Coached
- Collaborated
- Collected
- Combined
- Communicated
- Compared
- Compiled
- Completed
- Composed
- Computed
- Conceived
- Conceptualised
- Condensed
- Conducted
- Conferred
- Conserved
- Consolidated
- Constructed
- Consulted
- Contacted
- Continued
- Contributed
- Controlled
- Converted
- Conveyed
- Convinced
- Coordinated
- Corresponded
- Created
- Critiqued
- Cultivated
- Customised
Action Verbs beginning with D Back to top
- Debugged
- Decided
- Defined
- Delegated
- Delivered
- Demonstrated
- Designated
- Designed
- Detected
- Determined
- Developed
- Devised
- Diagnosed
- Directed
- Discovered
- Dispensed
- Displayed
- Dissected
- Distributed
- Diverted
- Documented
- Drafted
Action Verbs beginning with E Back to top
- Earned
- Edited
- Educated
- Effected
- Eliminated
- Emphasised
- Employed
- Encouraged
- Enforced
- Engineered
- Enhanced
- Enlarged
- Enlisted
- Ensured
- Entertained
- Established
- Estimated
- Evaluated
- Examined
- Executed
- Expanded
- Expedited
- Experimented
- Explained
- Explored
- Expressed
- Extended
- Extracted
Action Verbs beginning with F Back to top
- Fabricated
- Facilitated
- Fashioned
- Finalised
- Fixed
- Fit
- Focused
- Forecasted
- Formed
- Formulated
- Fostered
- Found
- Fulfilled
- Furnished
Action Verbs beginning with G Back to top
- Gained
- Gathered
- Generated
- Governed
- Grossed
- Guided
Action Verbs beginning with H Back to top
- Handled
- Headed
- Heightened
- Helped
- Hired
- Honed
- Hosted
- Hypothesised
Action Verbs beginning with I Back to top
- Identified
- Illustrated
- Imagined
- Implemented
- Improved
- Improvised
- Incorporated
- Increased
- Indexed
- Influenced
- Informed
- Initiated
- Innovated
- Inspected
- Inspired
- Installed
- Instituted
- Integrated
- Interacted
- Interpreted
- Interviewed
- Introduced
- Invented
- Inventoried
- Investigated
- Involved
- Issued
Action Verbs beginning with J Back to top
- Joined
- Judged
Action Verbs beginning with K Back to top
- Kept
Action Verbs beginning with L Back to top
- Launched
- Learned
- Led
- Lifted
- Listened
- Located
- Logged
- Lectured
Action Verbs beginning with M Back to top
- Maintained
- Managed
- Manipulated
- Marketed
- Maximised
- Measured
- Mediated
- Merged
- Mobilised
- Modified
- Monitored
- Motivated
Action Verbs beginning with N Back to top
- Navigated
- Negotiated
- Netted
Action Verbs beginning with O Back to top
- Observed
- Obtained
- Opened
- Operated
- Ordered
- Orchestrated
- Organised
- Originated
- Outlined
- Overcame
- Overhauled
- Oversaw
Action Verbs beginning with P Back to top
- Participated
- Performed
- Persuaded
- Photographed
- Pinpointed
- Piloted
- Pioneered
- Placed
- Planned
- Played
- Predicted
- Prepared
- Prescribed
- Presented
- Presided
- Prevented
- Printed
- Prioritised
- Processed
- Produced
- Programmed
- Projected
- Promoted
- Proofread
- Proposed
- Protected
- Proved
- Provided
- Publicised
- Purchased
Action Verbs beginning with Q Back to top
- Qualified
- Questioned
Action Verbs beginning with R Back to top
- Raised
- Ran
- Rated
- Reached
- Realised
- Reasoned
- Received
- Recommended
- Reconciled
- Recorded
- Recruited
- Reduced
- Referred
- Regulated
- Rehabilitated
- Related
- Remodelled
- Rendered
- Reorganised
- Repaired
- Replaced
- Reported
- Represented
- Researched
- Reshaped
- Resolved
- Responded
- Restored
- Retrieved
- Reviewed
- Revised
- Revitalised
- Routed
Action Verbs beginning with S Back to top
- Saved
- Scheduled
- Screened
- Searched
- Secured
- Selected
- Separated
- Served
- Shaped
- Shared
- Simplified
- Simulated
- Sketched
- Sold
- Solved
- Sorted
- Spearheaded
- Specialised
- Specified
- Spoke
- Sponsored
- Staffed
- Standardised
- Started
- Streamlined
- Strengthened
- Structured
- Studied
- Suggested
- Summarised
- Supervised
- Supplied
- Supported
- Surpassed
- Surveyed
- Sustained
- Synthesised
- Systematised
Action Verbs beginning with T Back to top
- Targeted
- Taught
- Terminated
- Tested
- Tightened
- Totalled
- Tracked
- Traded
- Trained
- Transcribed
- Transformed
- Transmitted
- Translated
- Travelled
- Tutored
Action Verbs beginning with U Back to top
- Uncovered
- Undertook
- Unified
- United
- Updated
- Upgraded
- Used
- Utilised
Action Verbs beginning with V Back to top
- Validated
- Verbalised
- Verified
- Vitalised
- Volunteered
Action Verbs beginning with W Back to top
- Weighed
- Widened
- Won
- Worked
- Wrote