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All click-worthy titles have one thing in common — Power Words!

The next time you craft your titles or headlines, think about the emotions it will trigger.

Human beings are deeply affected by the unconscious mind and triggered subconsciously.

A study done by Harvard in 2012 found that humans first perceive via emotions.

Power Words

I created a list of 647+ Power Words you can use to craft amazing titles and headings.

These Power Words are based on Robert Plutchik’s Theory and the Wheel of Emotions.

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Anger

People get angry every day and sometimes it’s just one specific word in the right context that triggered their emotional response.

When you get angry your body is flooded with hormones like adrenaline and cortisol.

The natural response to anger is to divert your blood to your muscles in preparation to fight.

Use an Anger Power Word from below within your title to frame a negative reaction.

Aggravate	Disturbed	Restless
Agony	Dreadful	Revenge
Annoyed	Enraged	Salty
Annoying	Fight	Savage
Assault	Force	Scream
Atrocious	Frantic	Severe
Attack	Frenzy	Shatter
Battle	Frustrating	Shocking
Beat	Furious	Snarky
Bitter	Grumpy	Sour
Bold	Hassle	Tantrum
Break	Hate	Terrible
Bullishly	Heated	Touchy
Conflict	Hijack	Toxic
Corrupting	Hostile	Tragic
Crabby	Insane	Unhappy
Crazed	Insult	Unnerving
Crazy	Malicious	Unreliable
Cruel	Offensive	Unstable
Crush	Outburst	Uproar
Curse	Outrageous	Upsetting
Damaging	Panic	Vicious
Deadly	Provoke	Violated
Destroy	Punch	Violent
Disastrous	Rabid	Volatile
Disgusted	Rage	Wicked
Disputed	Resentful	Wrath

Anticipation

Feeling hyped for a new product launch?

In most cases, this “hyped” feeling is due to the anticipation emotional response.

You are looking forward to something, although your expectations remain neutral.

Anticipation Power Words are used to build momentum and create social buzz.

Accelerate	Gather	Prediction
Advance	Goal	Prevent
Announce	Guide	Promise
Anxiety	Hope	Quick
Astonish	Hopeful	Rapid
Avoid	Hunch	Reveal
Awaiting	Hurry	Reward
Beginning	Hustle	Rush
Bonus	Hyper	Signal
Build	Idea	Soon
Bustle	Ignite	Sprint
Considering	Insight	Streamline
Craving	Inspiration	Surprise
Delayed	Inspiring	Suspense
Discovery	Kickstart	Teaser
Eager	Launch	Tension
Early	Learn	Think
Enthusiasm	Limited	Today
Exclusive	Little-known	Understand
Expect	Look-ahead	Urge
Expecting	Lust	Urgent
Expedite	Mystery	Wait
Explained	Now	Warning
Express	Optimism	Watch
Fast	Outlook	Wishful
Forecast	Passion	Wonder
Future	Plan	Yearning

Disgust

Have your friends ever told you stories about their drunken adventures?

More specifically, how their night ended — messy and vomit every where.

Just hearing that probably makes you cringe.

Disgust Power Words change the mood to “that’s just wrong…but I can’t look away”.

Awful	Sickening	Putrid
Crappy	Spoiled	Undeserving
Creepy	Taboo	Worthless
Cringe	Ugly	Impure
Crude	Uncomfortable	Criminal
Dirty	Vile	Unappetizing
Disgraceful	Vulgar	Unsavoury
Disgusting	Sloppy	Dishonorable
Evil	Grimy	Slimy
Filthy	Grungy	Ungodly
Foul	Tacky	Blameworthy
Gross	Frumpy	Pathetic
Horrible	Scandal	Valueless
Icky	Annoying	Malicious
Junk	Appalling	Off-putting
Messy	Dump	Common
Nasty	Smelly	Unattractive
Nauseating	Loathsome	Naughty
Obscene	Despicable	Sleazy
Plague	Offensive	Trashy
Reject	Bad	Mediocre
Repelled	Wretched	Low-grade
Repulsive	Obnoxious	Humiliating
Revolting	Horrid	Unsightly
Rotten	Dreadful	Unwholesome
Shameful	Corrupt	Moist
Shitty	Poor	Regrettable

Fear

Have you ever read a scary story and decided to keep the hall light on .. just in case?

Why do we get scared from the words we read, it’s only a story — right?

Our subconscious has a fight-or-flight response hardwired, so by nature we are scared of danger.

Fear Power Words will make you feel an emotional response towards something you don’t want to happen.

Abusive	Forbidden	Savage
Aggressive	Freaky	Scam
Alarming	Frighting	Scary
Alert	Ghostly	Scathing
Assault	Grave	Self-destructive
Avoid	Grim	Shady
Beware	Gruesome	Shocking
Bloodcurdling	Hair-raising	Sinister
Brutal	Harmful	Soul-crushing
Caution	Heart-stopping	Soul-destroying
Chilling	Hellish	Spine-chilling
Crisis	Hideous	Steal
Cutthroat	Hopeless	Stolen
Dangerous	Horrifying	Stressful
Dark	Hostile	Terrifying
Daunting	Lethal	Threat
Deadly	Life-threatening	Toxic
Deathlike	Miserable	Trap
Deviant	Monstrous	Troublesome
Devilishly	Morbid	Unhealthy
Diabolical	Nightmarish	Unholy
Doomed	Ominous	Unknown
Doubtful	Painful	Unsettling
Emergency	Poisonous	Unspeakable
Evil	Reckless	Unworthy
Failure	Risky	Vulnerable
Fatal	Sabotage	Wicked

Joy

Your favorite baseball team was victorious and you get to brag at work tomorrow.

That is the feeling of joy and happiness that drives your actions.

Think about it, every time you are happy you want to share your news with the world.

But when we are sad, we’d rather crawl up in a blanket and watch Netflix all day in the darkness of our sorrows.

Try using Joy Power Words to drive people to take positive actions.

 

Absolute	Exciting	Love
Acceptable	Exhilarating	Lovely
Adorable	Fabulous	Lucky
Alluring	Fantastic	Nurturing
Amazing	Favorable	Paradise
Amusing	Favored	Playful
Astonishing	Fortunate	Pleasure
Awe-Inspiring	Free	Profitable
Beautiful	Friendly	Profound
Beneficial	Fun	Promising
Best	Fun-filled	Proven
Blessed	Gifted	Satisfy
Blissful	Glorious	Satisfying
Brilliant	Golden	Seductive
Buzz-worthy	Good-humored	Sparky
Cheerful	Great	Splendid
Chipper	Greatest	Stunning
Comfy	Happiness	Successful
Complete	Healthy	Thankful
Dazzling	Heartwarming	Thrilled
Definitive	Helpful	Triumphant
Delight	Inspiring	Upbeat
Devoted	Jazzy	Victorious
Effective	Jubilant	Wealthy
Energizing	Laughable	Well-off
Enjoyable	Lively	Wonderful
Entertaining	Lovable	Worry-free

Sadness

You just got a message from your Mom, Skipper died..

.. and you didn’t have a chance to say goodbye.

That’s just sad, I don’t care who you are!

Hearing words like “died” makes us want to wallow in sorrow.

Sadness Power Words invoke a feeling of grief that make us feel bad.

Agonizing	Flunked	Shame
Awful	Gloomy	Shameful
Botched	Grief-stricken	Sluggish
Break	Gut-wrenching	Sorrow
Broken	Hardship	Soul-stirring
Cowardly	Heartbreaking	Stupid
Crisis	Horrible	Tear-jerking
Crushing	Hurtful	Tearful
Cutback	Inferior	Tearful
Dark	Insecure	Threatened
Dead	Lacking	Tormenting
Death	Last	Touching
Deceptive	Loser	Tragic
Decreasing	Loss	Troubled
Defeat	Lowest	Ugliest
Depressing	Miserable	Unbearable
Devastating	Misery	Unfortunate
Difficult	Misfortune	Unsettling
Disappointing	Missed	Unsuccessful
Disastrous	Pathetic	Upsetting
Disturbed	Pitiful	Useless
Dreadful	Pointless	Victim
Dying	Poor	Wasted
Embarrassing	Poverty	Wasting
Exhausting	Problem	Weepy
Expired	Ruined	Worst
Failure	Sensitive	Wrong

Surprise

The anticipation has been building for months, but something amazing happens.

Without notice, your favorite TV show releases their new season on Netflix to binge!

Being unprepared for something will come as a surprise and leave us with our minds blown.

Use Surprise Power Words to shock your audience in a good or bad way.

Alarming	Exclusive	Revelation
Amazing	Exposed	Rumor
Ambushed	Extraordinary	Scandal
Announcement	Eye-opening	Scoop
Astonishing	Flabbergasted	Secret
Astounding	Fuzzy	Shaken
Awe	Gift	Shell-shocked
Baffled	Impressed	Shocking
Bewildered	Impulsively	Spectacular
Bewitching	Jaw-dropping	Speechless
Blindsided	Jolted	Spoiler
Blown-away	Little-known	Startling
Boggling	Lost	Striking
Bombshell	Marvel	Stunned
Breathtaking	Mesmerizing	Stunning
Busted	Mind-blowing	Suddenly
Captured	Miracle	Swiftly
Caught	Mystify	Terrific
Challenging	New	Traumatized
Complex	Open-mouthed	Unaware
Confused	Perplexed	Unexpected
Dazed	Problematic	Unexpectedly
Devastated	Puzzled	Unforeseen
Discover	Quickly	Unnerved
Discovery	Remarkable	Unprepared
Enlightening	Reveal	Wide-eyed
Exciting	Revealing	Won

Trust

A random stranger walks up to you and asks to borrow money, what do you say?

Psssh .. heck no, that’s my hard earned money stranger!

Although, your best friend asking for money is different and you know they are “good for it”.

Why is your best friend more trustworthy?

They earned your trust and proved themselves to be trusting.

Trust Power Words help to earn trust by invoking a sense of credibility.

Absolutely	Freedom	Realistic
Accurate	Genuine	Recommended
Assurance	Good	Reliable
Authentic	Greatest	Research
Authority	Guarantee	Results
Backed	Guard	Risk-free
Bank	Holy	Safe
Believe	Honest	Science
Beneficial	Honorable	Secure
Best	Improved	Senior
Best-seller	Ironclad	Seriously
Certain	Leader	Solid
Choice	Legitimate	Stable
Confident	Loyalty	Strategy
Correct	Master	Success
Credit	Maximum	Supreme
Easy	Natural	Tangible
Effective	Organic	Tested
Elite	Original	Top
Exactly	Perfect	Top-grade
Excellent	Preferred	True-life
Expert	Premium	Trustworthy
Fact	Professional	Truthful
Faith	Profitable	Undeniable
Favorite	Proven	Validated
First-class	Quality	Verified
Formula	Real	Victory

 

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I hope this guide helps you find the right power words to use in your titles and headlines.

The best power words trigger the expected emotional response and captivate the reader.

Bookmark this page and come back every time you create new content that requires a title.

If you have any power words you think would be beneficial let me know in the comments.

Good luck on your road to enriching your titles with these 647+ Power Words!