Emotionally charged words that provoke a strong, almost instinctive response from readers - words like 'shattered,' 'forbidden,' 'relentless,' or 'betrayal.'
Power words are the words that make readers feel something before they've finished the sentence. They carry emotional weight far beyond their dictionary definitions, triggering responses rooted in fear, desire, curiosity, or urgency. Where ordinary words inform, power words provoke. The difference between 'she was sad' and 'she was devastated' is the difference between a reader nodding and a reader's chest tightening.
You don't need power words in every sentence, but you need them in the right sentences. They're how you make your hook irresistible, your climax devastating, and your turning points unforgettable. Learning which words carry weight - and which are just taking up space - is one of the most practical upgrades you can make to your prose.
Orwell's power words are weaponized: 'crushing,' 'merciless,' 'obliterate.' His word choices make the reader feel the physical weight of totalitarianism rather than just understanding it intellectually.
Morrison chooses words that land like blows: 'crawling-already? baby,' 'thick love,' 'the jungle whitefolks planted in them.' Her power words redefine what language can do to a reader.
McCarthy's vocabulary is deliberately archaic and visceral - 'immappable,' 'salitter,' 'the expriest' - creating a biblical weight that makes violence feel mythic rather than merely graphic.
Power words work through contrast. A single 'devastating' in a paragraph of calm, measured prose hits harder than five intense words crammed together. Let them breathe.
A cozy mystery shouldn't read like a horror novel. Choose power words that fit your story's emotional register. 'Unsettling' and 'terrifying' are both power words, but they belong in different books.
No word, however powerful, can substitute for well-constructed tension, character development, and stakes. Power words amplify good writing. They can't rescue weak writing.
Write the same scene twice in one page each: a character receiving life-changing news. In the first version, use only plain, neutral language. In the second, replace exactly five words with power words at the moments of highest emotion. Read both versions aloud and notice where your voice naturally rises or drops. That contrast is the difference power words make.