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Job Analysis: Job Descriptions: Action Words

Well written duty statements contain action words which accurately describe what is being done. The following is a list of acceptable action words. It is not a complete list, and you may find other suitable words. Avoid using ambiguous action words.

Accounts	To furnish a justifying analysis or explanation.
Acquires	To buy or take possession of.
Adapts	To modify to suit or fit specific needs.
Adjusts	To bring the parts of something to a true, more desirable, or effective position.
Administers	To carry out or regulate organizational or program operations, policies, and procedures; to apply a remedy.
Adopts	To accept and use as one's own.
Advises	To provide, based on specialized knowledge and usually only on request, information, ideas, suggestions, or informed opinions which aid/support others in deciding on a course of action or making a decision.
Advocates	To endorse in an assertive and deliberate manner.
Allocates	To set aside money, property, power, or other resources for a particular individual/program, group of individuals/programs, or an organization.
Allots	To distribute a share or portion for a specific purpose.
Alters	To make different without changing into something else.
Amuses	To provide any form of distraction that contents the mind.
Analyzes	To separate all or any part of something into its constituent parts for the purpose of identifying and examining relationships or the parts to one another and to other factors.
Answers	To speak or write in reply to an inquiry.
Applies	To put to use for a purpose.
Appoints	To officially designate.
Appraises	To give an expert judgment of worth or merit.
Approves	To exercise final authority with regard to the acceptability of an action.

Arbitrates	To act with defined authority to resolve a dispute.
Arranges	To prepare for an event.
Assembles	To convene individuals out of common interest or purpose; to fit together with component parts of a structure or machine.
Assesses	To determine the exact value or extent prior to judging it or using it as the ground for a decision.
Assigns	To specify or designate tasks or duties to be performed by others.
Audits	To examine accounts in a final, official sense to verify their correctness.
Authorizes	To give permission for or to empower through vested authority.
Awards	To confer or bestow for performance or quality.
Balances	To arrange or prove so that the sum of one group equals the sum of another.
Bargains	To negotiate the terms of a sale, exchange, or other agreement.
Batches	To group into a quantity for a future operation.
Budgets	To plan a summary of probable expenditures and income for a given period.
Calculates	To determine by mathematical or statistical processes.
Calibrates	To check, adjust, or standardize the graduation of.
Carries	To move something or someone from one place to another, using the hands.
Categorizes	To group on the basis of a comparison of certain readily perceived characteristics and criteria.
Certifies	To officially endorse that something is in conformance with set standards.
Checks	To compare with a source and verify accuracy.
Circulates	To move from person to person or place to place.

Classifies	To arrange, distribute, or group facts/items according to common characteristics.
Cleans	To remove dirt or impurities; to prepare for cooking.
Climbs	To move progressively upward.
Coaches	To befriend and encourage individuals on a personal, caring basis.
Codes	To translate words or figures into symbols (letters or numbers).
Collaborates	To work jointly with.
Collates	To assemble in proper numerical or logical sequence.
Collects	To bring data or material together in a group or mass.
Compares	To examine for the purpose of discovering similarities or differences.
Compiles	To place information or arrange material from other documents into a formalized order.
Composes	To create by artistic labor.
Computes	To determine by arithmetical processes.
Condenses	To shorten material without altering its meaning.
Confers	To seek and compare views, opinions, and judgments with others through discussions.
Confirms	To assure the accuracy, consistency, or completeness of.
Consolidates	To bring together; to combine several into one.
Constructs	To make or form by combining parts; to draw with suitable instruments and under specified conditions.
Consults	To give expert/definitive professional advice.
Controls	To evaluate, verify, regulate, and/or be informed about actions to the point of influencing or directing activities/functions toward conformance with plans or desired results.
Converts	To alter the physical or chemical nature of something.
Conveys	To transfer by legal means ownership of property from one individual to another.

Coordinates	To guide, regulate, or adjust the interrelated and interdependent activities of individuals or functions of a unit(s) to facilitate a common action and to attain a common purpose or goal.
Copies	To reproduce an original.
Corrects	To eliminate error or defect.
Correlates	To establish a direct or inverse relationship.
Corresponds	To communicate with others in writing.
Counsels	To provide advice, usually on one's own initiative, in which a course of action is suggested or urged and some recourse of follow-up is implied.
Counts	To list or name, one by one, to find the total number of units involved.
Creates	To bring into existence; to produce through imaginative skill.
Debates	To discuss and argue a question formally, and usually in public.
Decides	To make up one's mind as to action, course, or judgment.
Defends	To ward off something that actually threatens; to repel something that actually attacks.
Defines	To determine and state the limits and nature of; to give the distinguishing characteristics of.

Delegates	To designate with authority another to perform tasks or duties which in turn may carry specific degrees of accountability and authority.
Deliberates	To consider carefully and thoroughly a matter with abstract/complex variables to arrive at a conclusion.
Delivers	To carry something to an intended destination.
Demonstrates	To explain or make clear by using examples/experiments or showing the operations of.
Describes	To give an account in words that create a visual image in the minds of others.
Designates	To choose an incumbent or to detail a person to a certain post.
Designs	To conceive, create, and execute the form or shape of a physical object or the method for doing something.
Destroys	To completely tear down, do away with, or bring to an end.
Detects	To take notice of something by physical means (e.g. visual, tactile).
Determines	To fix conclusively or authoritatively the course, character, functions, or scope of something.
Develops	To expand or realize the potentialities of; to bring gradually to a fuller, greater, or better state.

Devises	To form in the mind by new combinations or applications of ideas or principles; to invent.
Diagnoses	To identify a disease, malfunction, or cause of disorder by symptoms or distinguishing characteristics.
Digs	To break and turn over or remove with a tool.
Directs	To personally oversee, inspect, or guide the work of others, with responsibility for ensuring certain standards of performance are met.
Disburses	To pay out or distribute with authority.
Disciplines	To penalize individuals or groups, whose behavior is contrary to existing regulations; to establish habits of self-control.
Discovers	To intentionally search for and acquire or find something that already exists but is new to the discoverer.
Discusses	To exchange views to arrive at a better understanding.
Dismantles	To take apart or raze; to remove furniture or equipment.
Dispatches	To send off or out.
Dispenses	To give a carefully weighed or measured portion to each of a group as a right or as to need.
Displays	To show; to place before the views of others.
Disseminates	To spread or disperse information or ideas.
Distributes	To deal out portions or spread about units among a number of recipients.
Drafts	To prepare papers or documents in preliminary form for clearance and approval by others.
Drives	To start, stop, and control the movement or action of machines.
Dumps	To empty out or unload in a heap or mass.
Duplicates	To make a copy or reproduction through the use of machinery.
Edits	To correct spelling, faulty phrasing, and imperfect punctuation, and mark a manuscript to ready it for publication.
Elaborates	To work out in detail; to give details.
Elects	To vote for.

Eliminates	To get rid of; to set aside as unimportant.
Employs	To use or engage the services of; to provide a job with consideration.
Encourages	To inspire with spirit and hope.
Endorses	To support or recommend actively.
Enlists	To secure the support and aid of.
Enters	To write down in a record, diary, log, or list; to make an entry of.
Entertains	To provide some activity or attraction that will give pleasure or relieve monotony or boredom.
Escorts	To accompany another or others to give protection or to watch over; to accompany as a courtesy or honor.
Estimates	To make a rough approximation of the size, extent, or value of.
Evaluates	To judge reports, data, plans, or performances in relation to established goals, policies, and standards; to compare critically to a standard for suitability.
Examines	To look over closely to determine the condition, quality, validity, or nature of.
Exchanges	To give or take one thing in return for another.
Exercises	To train by drills and maneuvers in order to strengthen and develop.

Exhibits	To put forward prominently or openly, either with the express intention or with the results of attracting other's attention or inspection.
Experiments	To undertake an action to discover something not yet known or to demonstrate something known.
Explains	To make clear or easier to understand that which appears vague, causeless, or inconsistent.
Extracts	To pull out by effort; to make a selection or quotation of; to determine by calculation.
Fabricates	To build by assembling; to manufacture.
Fastens	To make secure by locking, shutting, buttoning; to fix firmly in place.
Feeds	To move into a machine or opening in order to be used or processed; to furnish with something essential for growth and sustenance.
Files	To arrange in a methodical manner; to rub smooth or cut away with a tool.
Forecasts	To predict or indicate a condition or event beforehand as a result of rational study of available data.
Formulates	To prepare mentally a rough plan, policy, or procedure.
Garners	To gather and store in a granary.

Gathers	To bring materials together or accumulate.
Gauges	To assess a thing as authentic, good, or adequate or the degree it is so in relation to a standard measure or scale.
Generates	To originate by a vital, chemical, or mechanical process.
Governs	To exercise continuous sovereign authority over.
Grades	To divide into groups based on ascending or descending order.
Guards	To watch over to keep safe from any potential attack or harm.
Guides	To show the way or approach by applying intimate knowledge or experience of the way or approach and of all its difficulties.
Hauls	To move by pulling or drawing; to transport by vehicle.
Hires	To engage the services of for a set sum.
Hypothesizes	To form a tentative assumption to test its logical or empirical consequences.
Identifies	To recognize, acknowledge, or establish based on the characteristics of.
Illustrates	To make clear something which is difficult, abstract, or remote from experience especially to use pictures or sketches to make vivid or real what is being explained.

Implements	To carry out or into effect a plan, program, or operation.
Imports	To bring in from a foreign or external source.
Improves	To correct or advance something by supplying what it lacks or wants.
Indexes	To classify information, usually by subject matter or name to facilitate reference.
Indicts	To bring charges against an individual or organizations.
Informs	To make known; to call attention to.
Innovates	To exercise creativity in introducing something new or in making changes.
Inspects	To search, through direct observations, for conditions such as errors, defects, flaws, or shortcomings.
Installs	To establish in an indicated place, condition, or status; to set up for use in service.
Instructs	To impart knowledge systematically.
Interprets	To explain meanings or intentions, not immediately apparent to others, in light of individual judgment; to translate.
Interviews	To obtain facts or opinions through oral inquiry or examination.

Inventories	To catalog; to count and list; to make an itemized record of.
Invents	To create; to think up or imagine.
Investigates	To make a methodical, searching inquiry into a situation.
Issues	To put forth or to distribute officially.
Itemizes	To enumerate one after another; to set or note down in detail.
Joins	To bring or put together.
Judges	To investigate and compare the evidence and merits of all issues in a case and decide where the truth lies.
Justifies	To prove or show to be right or reasonable in light of individual belief or facts.
Leads	To guide or direct others on a course or in the direction of, without final responsibility for results achieved.
Lifts	To use effort to overcome the force of gravity.
Loads	To place in or on a means of conveyance.
Locates	To search for and find.
Lubricates	To apply a substance to machinery to reduce friction in operation.

Manages	To guide and coordinate worker activities and organizational or program policies, rules, practices, methods, and standards.
Manipulates	To move, guide, or place objects or materials with skill and dexterity.
Manufactures	To make or process raw material into a finished product.
Maps	To make a survey of for the purpose of representation.
Matches	To pair up or put into a set those items possessing equal or harmonizing attributes.
Measures	To determine the quantity, mass, extent, or degree of in terms of a standard unit or fixed amount.
Mediates	To interpose with parties to reconcile them; to reconcile differences.
Mends	To repair; to restore to soundness that which is broken or torn.
Mixes	To combine or blend particles, parts, or elements into one.
Modifies	To limit or restrict the meaning of; to make minor changes in.
Monitors	To watch, observe, or check for a specific purpose.
Motivates	To stimulate the active interest or desire within someone for something.

Moves	To go or transport from one point to another.
Negotiates	To confer with others for the purpose of reaching agreement.
Notifies	To send a formal notice giving required or pertinent information.
Nullifies	To make of no value or consequence; to cancel out.
Observes	To obtain data visually.
Obtains	To acquire or gain possession of.
Opens	To make available for entry or passage.
Operates	To start, stop, control, and adjust machinery or equipment.
Organizes	To take steps to set up the administrative structure or functions of an office or process.
Originates	To bring into being; to initiate.
Outlines	To make a summary of the significant features of a subject.
Overhauls	To make repairs, adjustments needed to restore to good working order.
Oversees	To watch; to monitor.
Packages	To wrap or box an item or group of items.
Permits	To consent to; to authorize.
Persuades	To induce others by argument or entreaty to accept a belief or position; to prevail upon others to take a course of action.
Picks up	To collect or lift an object or material.
Plans	To devise a detailed means of course of action for attaining an objective/goal.

Posts	To transfer or carry information from one record to another; to display prominently.
Predicts	To foretell on the basis of observation, experience; or scientific reason.
Prescribes	To recommend medical treatment with authority.
Presents	To lay as a charge before the court; to offer for view.
Preserves	To keep safe; to protect; to keep free from decay.
Prevents	To stop something from occurring; to take advance measures against.
Procures	To obtain possession of.
Produces	To grow; to make, bear, or yield something.
Programs	To arrange or work out a sequence of operations to be performed by equipment or machinery.
Promotes	To advance to a higher level or position; to foster the growth or development of.
Proofreads	To read copy of a printer's proof against the original manuscript.
Proposes	To formulate and suggest for adoption.
Pulls	To cause to move in the direction toward the source of the force.
Purchases	To buy or procure by committing funds.
Pushes	To use force upon an object to move it away from the source of the force.
Quantifies	To determine or express the amount of.

Questions	To interrogate; to inquire.
Ranks	To determine or assign the relative importance of data, people, or things.
Rates	To determine the rank of in relation to others of the same kind.
Reaps	To cut grain and pulse for harvest.
Rebuilds	To make extensive structural repairs.
Recommends	To suggest and support for adoption a course of action.
Reconciles	To adjust; to make congruous; to seek agreement.
Records	To set down in writing; to preserve in some permanent form.
Reduces	To narrow down; to diminish in size or amount.
Refers	To send or direct for aid, treatment, information, or decision.
Refines	To free from impurities, imperfections, or vulgarities; to make more polished.
Registers	To enter in a record or list officially.
Regulates	To order or restrain by rule, method, or established mode.
Reinforces	To strengthen with additional forces.
Rejects	To refuse to hear, receive, or admit.
Releases	To permit the publication or dissemination of.
Remits	To send money in payment of.
Repairs	To put into good or fitting order something that is injured.

Replaces	To provide a substitute for something now lost, gone, or worn out.
Reports	To give an account, in detail, of facts and figures.
Represents	To foster general interest in, through speeches, and consultation and contacts with individuals, groups, and constituencies.
Rescinds	To make void; to repeal; to abrogate a contract by restoring preexisting conditions.
Rescues	To free a person or animal from imminent danger by prompt or vigorous action.
Researches	To perform a systematic, critical, intensive investigation directed toward development of new or fuller knowledge of the topic or issue studied.
Resolves	To decide to do or refrain from doing something; to take remedial action.
Retrieves	To recover from a location where previously placed, set, or thrown.
Reviews	To consider or to reexamine results for the purpose of giving an opinion or approval.
Revises	To rework in order to correct or improve; to make a new, improved, or up-to-date version.
Rewards	To give something in recompense for worthy behavior.
Salvages	To rescue or save (as from wreckage or ruin).
Scans	To survey from point to point in a cursory manner.
Schedules	To plan a timetable; to set specific time for.
Scores	To assign a numerical evaluation.
Screens	To examine for the purpose of separating one group.

Seals	To secure the contents of by closing with adhesive.
Searches	To systematically look over and through for the purpose of finding an item.
Selects	To decide on one, or a few from several possibilities.
Sells	To give up property to another for money or other valuable consideration.
Sends	To dispatch by a means of communication; to convey.
Serves	To attend to the personal needs or requests of people.
Services	To make fit for use by providing maintenance, supplies, repairs, or installations.
Smells	To acquire and examine the odor or scent with the nose.
Solicits	To approach with a request or plea; to strongly urge.
Solves	To answer a question or work out a problem.
Sorts	To group or categorize according to systematic relations or common characteristics; to put in a definite place or rank according to kind, class, or other category.
Stacks	To load or arrange in a somewhat orderly heap or pile.
Stores	To put away for future use; to deposit or receive for safe keeping.
Studies	To contemplate; to learn all the possibilities, applications, variations, or relations of a subject before making plans and/or taking action.
Submits	To direct attention to something for consideration.
Summarizes	To present in a concise and compact manner.

Supplies	To provide space, equipment, material, and other non-financial resources.
Surveys	To look at or consider in a general or comprehensive way; to determine the location, form, or boundaries of by measuring the lines and angles.
Synthesizes	To compose or combine parts or elements in order to form a whole.
Systematizes	To arrange or make by the use of a method or orderly planning.
Tabulates	To put in table form; to set up in columns, rows.
Teaches	To apply a guided process of assigned work, discipline, direct study, and the presentation of examples to increase the general knowledge of another person.
Tends	To start, stop, and monitor the functioning of machinery and equipment.
Testifies	To provide oral or written testimony on facts known.
Tests	To put a thing to decisive proof by thorough examination under controlled conditions.
Totals	To add up; to compute.
Traces	To copy as a drawing; to search for a lost item.
Trades	To give in exchange for another commodity; to make a purchase.
Trains	To develop a particular faculty or skill in others to bring them up to a predetermined standard of work performance.
Transacts	To carry on or handle business in accordance with a prescribed procedure.
Transcribes	To transfer data from one form of record to another or from one method of preparation to another, without changing the nature of data.

Transfers	To change from one mode of conveyance to another, or from one depository to another.
Translates	To turn into one's own or another language.
Transmits	To transfer or send from one person or place to another; to send out a signal either by radio waves or over a wire.
Treats	To give medical or surgical care; to subject to chemical action.
Turns	To make to rotate or revolve; to cause to move around so as to effect a desired end (as locking, opening, shutting).
Tutors	To instruct on an individual basis and in a special subject or for particular occasion or purpose.
Types	To write with a typewriter.
Updates	To make current with the most recent facts, methods, or ideas.
Ushers	To guide to a particular place.
Washes	To clean by means of water and/or other substances by dipping, tumbling, or scrubbing.
Waxes	To rub, polish, cover, smear, or treat with a sealing substance.
Weighs	To determine the heaviness of an object.
Writes	To set down letters, words, sentences, or figures on paper or other suitable material.

Ambiguous Action Words

The following is short list of ambiguous, or imprecise, action words. While these words, if used in an appropriate context, may be used (such as "Endorses a check"), their use in duty statements should be avoided.