When it comes to copywriting, headlines often make the difference between rock star heroes and wanna-be writer duds. The premise is simple. Compose a great headline and potential readers notice.
Boom! We’ve assembled a list of banging words to use composing ad, blog and article headlines, likely to distinguish professional from amateur copy when well used.
How To Use The List
Search the post using the find on page command in your web browser. The list below is divided into an array of permutations:
- Emotions like “Happy,” “Sad,” “Angry” and “Guilt”
- Expletive punch words such as “Aha,” “Shh,” and “Ick”
- Stimulating headline fodder at the next level of synonym extrapolation: “Beautiful” becomes “Gorgeous” and “Magnificent.” We stem “Epic” to options to the tune of “Titanic” and “Gallant.” “Fake” offers fun synonyms like “Faux” and “Mock.” You get the picture. This resource is meant to be a colorful headline-stemming lateral  thesaurus.
Those Important Short Words Come Alive
Being copywriters in a world of 25 character ad headline restrictions and SEO title tag limitations can be a challenge. To help out, we’ve color-coded by length short-sweet-and-to-the-beat headline writing gems as follows:
- Green = 2 character words
- Red = those elusive 3 character words
- Blue = 4 character words
- Orange = 5 letter words
- Black = longer words, many of which are super duper colorful
Many of these words can be expressed as alternate semantic mechanisms, meaning forms other than presented herein. For instance, “Entertain,” the verb can be used as “Entertaining,” an adjective. “Chaos” might become “Chaotic,” “Risk” can be used as “Risky,” “Excess,” “Excessive”, etc. Be headline-LICIOUS babe 🙂
Present and past tense are liquid as well. “Roar can be “Roared” and “Content”  written as “Contented.” In other words, think of the words below as concepts and have your way manipulating variations. Make “Malicious” “Malice,” “Forge” “Forgery” and so on.
We’re hopeful the list herein provides effervescent writing options to rock out ad copy, blogs and articles. Alrighty then, let’s have at it! Have phat fun and happy headline banging!
Aggressive, violent, assertive, pushy, forceful, belligerent, pugnacious, confrontational, argumentative, fierce
Aha, alert, eek, hmm, shh, ugh, umm, sick, hello, oh my, SRSLY, hey, act, warning, bam, boom, fab, new, hah, man, #FAIL, yay, yep, yes, sure, affirmative, absolutely, indeed, surely, aye, certainly, yeah, yah, ick, rad
Alt, alternative, substitute, replacement, option, possibility
Adorned, gilded, golden, decorated, ornate, colorful, flamboyant
All-star, star-studded, glittering, prestigious, glitzy, stellar, starry, cosmic, swanky, showy, flashy, rockstar
Amuse, tickled, charmed, entertain, fascinating, enthrall, intrigue, beguile, mesmerizing, engross
Angry, mad, rage, frenzy, agitate, temper, ire, bile, vitriol, annoy, aggravated, aggravate, agitated, bitter, hostile, exasperate, ferocity, frustration, frustrate, fury, grouchy, grumpy, crabby, hostile, indignant, irritate, irritated, outrage, vengeance, wrath, revenge, peeved, upset, pissed, miffed, riled, irk, tantrum, testy, cranky, cross, livid, fuming, fume, madness, avenge, fit, ire
Attack, assault, incursion, onslaught, ambush, blitz, mugging, trap
Guilt, remorse, culpable, responsible, blameworthy, liable, accountable
Bad, evil, wicked, dreadful, corrupt, foul, vile, sinful, vulgar, obscene, profane, filthy, course, grimy, dirty, mucky, lewd, soiled, smutty, indecent, terrible, abysmal, awful, icky, gross, disgusting, horrid, revolting, awful, repellent, filthy, ghastly, crude
Beautiful, gorgeous, stunning, spectacular, dazzling, magnificent, lovely, attractive, striking, cute, pretty, scenic, exquisite, pretty, lovely, divine, adorable, exquisite, fine
Bomb, blast, shell, missile, explode, flash, fire, blaze, roar, rumble, zap, ram, bop, hit
Chaos, havoc, mess, disorder, mayhem, anarchy, tumult, fuss, commotion, turmoil, harsh, adverse, cruelty, frantic, frenetic
Cool, hip, trendy, stylish, fad, modish, fashionable, in, chic, voguish, craze
Courage, bravery, pluck, valor, mettle, resolution, hero, gallant
Cruel, mean, nasty, harsh, brutal, callous, malicious, uncaring, unkind, ruthless
Cry, wail, yell, shout, weep, howl, bawl, roar, sob, snivel, sniff, scream
Dangerous, unsafe, hazardous, risky, insecure, menacing, perilous, chancy, treacherous, menacing, threatening, dicey
Delicious, scrumptious, delectable, luscious, appetizing, mouthwatering, tasty, yummy, delish, juicy, sumptuous
Distant, aloof, detached, cold, unsociable, remote, unfriendly
Emotional, emo, provocative, stimulating, challenging, rousing, motivating, stirring, inspiring, feeling, touching, poignant, sentiment, compelling
Energy, vibrant, peppy, active, robust, vivacious, animated, effervescent, animated, vigorous, spirited, dynamic, drive, vim, drive, oomph
Envy, covet, jealousy, resentment, wishful, green, wannabe, want, crave
Epic, noble, heroic, grand, daring, intrepid, audacious, gallant, daring valiant, titanic
Escapade, jag, adventure, buzz, jaunt, spree, antic, trip, journey, excursion, tour
Excited, thrilled, delighted, euphoria, jubilation, exhilarate, zest, elated, glee
Fake, mock, bogus, faux, pseudo, artificial, ersatz, counterfeit, forged, phony, sham, forge, false, trick, hoax, spurious, unreal, simulated, quasi
Fear, anxiety, apprehension, dread, fright, hysteria, jumpiness, nervous, panic, tense, terror, worry, alarm, distress, trepidation, unease, disquiet, angst, concern, disquiet, fret, scare, foreboding, mania, jitter, edgy, agitate, nervy, twitchy
Funny, comedy, humorous, hilarious, hysterical, comical, entertaining, uproarious, riotous, amusing, sidesplitting, rib-tickling, droll, wacky, whacky, witty, waggish, droll, humor, wit, farce, fun
Geeky, nerd, dork, dweeb, Poindexter, nimrod, techie
Gem, jewel, diamond, charm, tiara, crown
Good, suitable, fit, apt, right, proper, excellent, superb, great, excellent, outstanding, exceptional, first-rate, admirable, superb, tremendous, terrific, wonderful, stupendous, marvelous, incomparable, magnificent, extraordinary, amazing, banging
Grateful, thanks, appreciation, indebted, beholden, obligedÂ
Greed, gluttony, voracity, insatiable, excess, rapacity
Happy, joy, enjoy, satisfied, bliss, jolly, cheerful, jovial, content, delight, glad, pleased, delighted, satisfied, quenched, placated, gratified, merry, gay, overjoyed, elated
Hate, animosity, abhorrence, antipathy, aversion, contempt, dislike, derision, deride, disdain, distaste, loath, repugnance, repelled, repulsion, resent, resentment, revolted, aghast, scorn, spite
Hope, optimism, faith, confidence, buoyancy, positivity, belief, trust, certainty
Hostile, unfriendly, harsh, adverse, antagonistic, intimidating, contrary
Huge, massive, immense, gigantic, monumental, colossal, giant, gargantuan, humongous, ginormous, vast, infinite, oversize
Hunger, starve, famine, appetite, wishful, thirst, ravenous, starve, famish
Insult, offensive, rude, insolent, impertinent, wounding, discourteous, slighting, offending, insolent, audacious, inflammatory, incendiary, inciting
Luxurious, posh, deluxe, lush, lavish, plush, opulent, rich, classy, grand, select, superior, extravagant, stylish, expensive, affluent, wealth
No, nah, nay, nix, nil
Pain, hurt, sting, agony, sore, throb, discomfort, wound, injure, burn, ache, cut, scar, scald, scab
Passion, fervor, desire, zeal, ardor, fanatic, enthusiasm
Pleasure, ecstasy, rapture, satiated, euphoric, enraptured, hedonism, decadence
Pointless, vain, futile, useless, inept, pathetic, unusable, worthless, rubbish, hollow
Powerful, dominant, mighty, commanding, major, authoritative, masterful, imposing, firm
Protest, rally, unite, march, gripe, dissent, dispute, mutiny, rebel, complain, yell
Proud, honored, gratified
Rad, radical, drastic, major, extreme, severe, intense
Rock, crush, destroy, decimate, annihilate, demolish, obliterate, thrash, batter, flog, hammer, bang, spank, whip
Sad, heartache, misery, woe, mourning, anguish, despair, depressed, gloom, melancholy, desolate, lament, bereave, torture, agony, deject, down, low, blue, glum, despondent, unhappy, dissatisfied, displeased, disgruntled, discontent, frustrated, upset, grumpy, gloomy, grief, sorrow, pained
Sly, crafty, cunning, shrewd, wily, sneaky, guileful
Smart, artful, ingenious, brilliant, bright, genius, canny, keen, intelligent, scholarly, brainy, educated, learned, studious, cerebral
Spurn, reject, resist, revolt, snub, repel, repulse, deter, resist, rebuff, deride
Stun, daze, shock, jolt, jar, stagger, baffle, haze, shake, jerk, bash, puzzle, bemuse, stump
Stupid, silly, unwise, senseless, ill-advised, imprudent, rash, reckless, heedless, risky, hasty, inane
Success, victory, conquest, triumph, feat, win, coup, accomplishment
Suspicious, wary, watchful, guarded, skeptical, doubtful, mistrust, apprehensive, defensive, vigilant, heedful
Unique (darker), dissimilar, divergent, abnormal, contradictory, unrelated, deviating, opposing, unlike, unrelated, curious, odd, unusual
Unique (positive), singular, distinct, different, distinctive, rare, exclusive, divergent
Urge, impulse, itch, compulsion, crave, want, hankering, green-eyed, yen, desire, longing, inclination, whim, impulse, compulsion
Valuable, treasured, prized, precious, quality
Vomit, nauseous, nausea, puke, spew, hurl, heave, gag, wretch, barf, regurgitate
Additional Three Letter Words
Aim, aim, amp, ape, ban, bum, bye, con, cop, cow, coy, elf, fog, gut, hag, hex, jab, jam, lag, law, let, lie, max, mob, nab, nag, old, opt, own, ply, pox, rag, raw, rip, rot, run, shy, spy, thy, veg, vex, wad, wag, war, yap