Word Choice Quotes

1. "I hate the word shy. I don't ever use that word. Shy was when I was seven and my one Princess signature got smeared across the pastel yellow page because I dripped tears all over it, because I was afraid and couldn't lift my head no matter how much I wanted to. That's how the shyness works. You want to talk, but you can't. People look at you with scorn. Being ice princess is infinitely better, even if some people think you're a total bitch. A snob. Reserved. Those are choices a person makes, to be reserved, to be quiet, or to be a snob. Shy isn't a choice."
Author: Bethany Griffin

2. "Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!"
Author: Billy Graham

3. "No job security," Denth said, leaning back in his chair. "The kinds of things we do, they tend to be dangerous and unpredictable. Our employers have a habit of dying off on us." "Though usually not from the chills," Tonk Fah noted. "Swords tend to be the method of choice."
Author: Brandon Sanderson

4. "War is big and there are only so many reporters and only so many places for their words and images to appear. Choices are made constantly."
Author: Bruce Jackson

5. "Did you face the bitch yourself or did you get it from Narian?"I smiled at his word choice. "I approached Rava myself. I've been known to face down a bitch or two."
Author: Cayla Kluver

6. "Pulling the chair out for me, he invited me to sit. I stood there wondering if I could sprint for the nearest exit. Stupid strappy shoes, I'd never make it. He leaned in close and whispered in my ear, "I know what you're thinking, and I'm not going to let you escape again. You can either take a seat and have dinner with me like a normal date," he grinned at his word choice, "or," he paused thoughtfully then threatened, "you can sit on my lap while I force-feed you."
Author: Colleen Houck

7. "While I don't often use the word, the technically precise term for my orientation is bisexual. I believe bisexuality is not a choice, it is a fact. What I have 'chosen' is to be in a gay relationship."
Author: Cynthia Nixon

8. "I do not say 'good-bye.' i believe that's one of the bullshittiest words ever invented. it's not like you're given the choice to say 'bad-bye' or 'awful-bye' or 'couldn't-care-less-about-you-bye.' every time you leave, it's supposed to be a good one. well, i don't believe in that. i believe against that."
Author: David Levithan

9. "One year I went as a pirate, but from then on I went as a hobo. It's a word you don't hear anymore. Along with 'tramp,' it's been replaced by 'homeless person,' which isn't the same thing. Unlike someone who was evicted or lost his house in a fire, the hobo roughed it by choice. Being at liberty, unencumbered by bills and mortgages, better suited his drinking schedule, and so he found shelter wherever he could, never a bum, but something much less threatening, a figure of merriment, almost."
Author: David Sedaris

10. "She overheard one of them shout, "This is Dr. Hartt's daughter!"Eve had no idea why those words came back to her at night. Over and over her brain repeated, "This is Dr. Hartt's daughter!"Not "Eve, we aren't showing a heartbeat on the baby."Not "David Statford was pronounced dead at the scene."Not "We can't stop the bleeding. She's hemorrhaging."Not "If the infection continues, we're not going to have any choice. Eve, we're recommending a hysterectomy."Maybe it was because she'd still had hope when she heard those words. Maybe because she'd thought she'd be protected since her father was a surgeon at the hospital where the ambulance took her."
Author: Debra Anastasia

11. "I made decaf," he said. "Caffeine isn't good for you.""Thank you, Mama Lane."He made a face at her. "Tate and I used to share everything. Let him go off in a snit. I'll share his baby. If he doesn't come back, I'll appropriate it, and you.""That's one area where all your commando skills will fail, dear man," she said affectionately. "I like you very much, and you can be baby's godfather. But I'm raising this child myself.""Godfather." He was savoring the word when the toast popped up."Bad choice of words," she murmured. "I wouldn't want to give you any bad ideas. I don't want my child outfitted in a fedora and a machine gun.""Commando godfathers are a different breed.""Black bags and camo gear aren't much better," she informed him."Spoilsport. Where's your sense of adventure?""Hanging in the shower trying to dry out."
Author: Diana Palmer

12. "No matter what it looks like or seems like. There is hope at the end of the tunnel. Think smart and plan for your future. Your words are power. Your thoughts are dynamite and your life can make a major difference for someone else. You are above and not beneath. You are the head and not the tail. See hope in everything that you do because you are filled with major purpose. Giving up is not an option and living life to the fullest is a major choice. Choose to be happy! Live for tomorrow."
Author: Dr. Alisha Broughton

13. "Freedom is not a constant attribute which we either "have" or "have not." In fact, there is no such thing as "freedom" except as a word and an abstract concept. There is only one reality: the act of freeing ourselves in the process of making choices. In this process the degree of our capacity to make choices varies with each act, with our practice of life."
Author: Erich Fromm

14. "It's chick flick disguised as a sword-and-sorcery picture. The only genre film with less balls is probably... freakin' Legend. Anyone who actually enjoys Ladyhawke is a bona fide USDA-choice pussy!"
Author: Ernest Cline

15. "Lay down these wordsBefore your mind like rocks. placed solid, by handsIn choice of place, setBefore the body of the mind in space and time:Solidity of bark, leaf, or wall riprap of things:Cobble of milky way. straying planets,These poems, people, lost ponies withDragging saddles -- and rocky sure-foot trails.The worlds like an endless four-dimensionalGame of Go. ants and pebblesIn the thin loam, each rock a word a creek-washed stoneGranite: ingrained with torment of fire and weightCrystal and sediment linked hot all change, in thoughts,As well as things."
Author: Gary Snyder

16. "You should be wearing green," she said. "To match your eyes.""In case you never noticed, my eyes are gray.""Never mind that," she said, once again waving my words away. "That brown washes out your skin tone."Why was she so concerned about my clothing choices? That was completely unlike her. "I like to look washed out," I said dryly. "Otherwise people are intimidated by my glorious beauty."
Author: Gena Showalter

17. "Perhaps everybody has a garden of Eden, I don't know; but they have scarcely seen their garden before they see the flaming sword. Then, perhaps, life only offers the choice of remembering the garden or forgetting it. Either, or: it takes strength to remember, it takes another kind of strength to forget, it takes a hero to do both."
Author: James Baldwin

18. "I am sure," cried Catherine, "I did not mean to say anything wrong; but it is a nice book, and why should not I call it so?""Very true," said Henry, "and this is a very nice day, and we are taking a very nice walk, and you are two very nice young ladies. Oh! It is a very nice word indeed! It does for everything. Originally perhaps it was applied only to express neatness, propriety, delicacy, or refinement—people were nice in their dress, in their sentiments, or their choice. But now every commendation on every subject is comprised in that one word."
Author: Jane Austen

19. "She had time to make room for him in her closet. The cat had time to get used to him. They had all the time they needed, because he'd told her he was hers, and he was a man of his word. "I've got all I need," she told him.He leaned down and kissed her again, then stroked a finger over her temple, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I want you to know," he said. "That you're the best choice I ever made.""No regrets?""No regrets."
Author: Jill Shalvis

20. "I ne'er was stuck before that hour,With love so sudden and so sweet.Her face it bloomed like a sweet flower,And stole my heart away complete.My face turned pale as deadly pale. My legs refused to walk away.And when she looked, what could I ail?My life and all seemed turned to clay."And then my blood rushed to my face,And took my eyesight quite away.The trees and bushes round the place,Seemed midnight at noonday.I could not see a single thing,Words from my eyes did start,They spoke as chords do from the string,And blood burnt round my heart."Are flowers the winter's choice?Is love bed's always snow?She seemed to hear my silent voice,Not love's appeals to know.I never saw so sweet a faceAs that I stood before.My heart has left its dwelling-placeAnd can turn no more."
Author: John Clare

21. "The Hebrew word, the word timshel - 'Thou mayest' - that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open...Why, that makes a man great...He can choose his course and fight it through and win...I have a new love for that glittering instrument, the human soul. It is a lovely and unique thing in the universe. It is always attacked and never destroyed - because 'Thou mayest'. ch 24"
Author: John Steinbeck

22. "But the Hebrew word, the word timshel—‘Thou mayest'— that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest'—it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not."
Author: John Steinbeck

23. "So is that it? Will I have to live the rest of my life like this? Not doing the right thing? Not saying the right words?""That's your choice. You can't change the past. Ah, but the future. . .you own the future." The Greenman smiled. "So, you tell me. . .what choice do you want to make now?"
Author: Jonathan Maberry

24. "I have talents that I'm not supposed to have: I can tell who crushes on who by how they stand, I can read strides, I can hear the tonal differences between an alto and a soprano singing the same line so clearly that to me they sing entirely different notes, and I can read through the lines and tell when a person doesn't need to be writing at all. That, that is what makes me a snob, because I cannot abide a person putting pen to paper or fingers on keys when they don't need to, when word choice is not as relevant and demanding and essential to them as breathing and syntax is about being correct and not about being evocative."
Author: Julia Bascom

25. "Then I should be able to say anything I want, right? Even the word ‘penis'?"Laney sighed. "Do we have to do this right now?"You should try saying the word sometime."I'll pass, thank you."Payton shrugged. "Your choice, but I think you'd find it liberating. Everybody could use a good ‘penis' now and then."Laney glanced nervously around the coffee shop. "People are listening."Sorry—you're right. Good rule of thumb: if you're gonna throw out a ‘penis' in a public place, it should be soft. Otherwise it attracts too much attention."The woman at the next table gaped at them."
Author: Julie James

26. "I was wrong. I should have never doubted you. I do trust you. I love you, and I can't do this anymore. I don't want to be..." He struggled to find the right words. "...without you." And then, finally, his arms slackened, releasing her, giving her the choice again. She felt his shoulders slump, and his heart shudder. "Please..."
Author: Kimberly Derting

27. "Will you promise to keep this to yourself, to not tell anyone of what we are?" By his words you'd think he was giving me a choice. Like I could say,no deal, honey bunch, I'm off to shout your secret from the rooftops, and he'd be like, oh no please don't do that. Inreality, he'd have to kill me."
Author: L.H. Cosway

28. "People from the most horrendous of childhoods can have good lives, but it comes down to a very seemingly simple word. 'Choice.'"
Author: Laura Schlessinger

29. "The Bible as God's perfect and authoritative Word one God in three persons (Trinity) human sinfulness by nature and by choice Jesus as fully God and fully man who lived without sin, died in our place for our sins, and rose from the dead salvation bestowed by the grace of God when a sinner turns from sin and trusts in Jesus alone through faith new birth through the Holy Spirit eternal heaven for believers and eternal hell for unbelievers"
Author: Mark Driscoll

30. "Now I know from this very word and deed of yours what free choice is and is capable of, namely, madness."
Author: Martin Luther

31. "ChoiceI needed it like I needed air.Bit no one could hear me. No one could listen. No words. No sound.No voice.I couldn't even dream myself away.Choices were made.None of them mine.At first I wondered if it was hell.And then I knew it was."
Author: Mary E. Pearson

32. "The word of God directs us in our work and way, and a dark place indeed the world would be without it. The commandment is a lamp kept burning with the oil of the Spirit, as a light to direct us in the choice of our way, and the steps we take in that way."
Author: Matthew Henry

33. "Every word Martone sets down, finally, a choice that limits the universe, their trail across the page a fossil record of some life's life-story."
Author: Michael Martone

34. "Not one word about proposals, no matter how much she pushes," I told my friends. "No matter what she says or how loud she cries, don't try to throw that up as a distraction."Gabriel's lips twitched. "I don't think it's going to be that bad. It's one woman against five supernatural creatures... And Zeb.""You laugh because you haven't heard my mother's thirty-minute verbal dissertation on appropriate seasonal flower choices. We're better off letting her yell at us for being dirty, premarital fornicators."
Author: Molly Harper

35. "Every human thought, word, or deed is based on fear or love. Fear is the energy which contracts, closes down, draws in, hides, hoards, harms. Love is the energy which expands, opens up, sends out, reveals, shares, heals. You have free choice about which of these to select."
Author: Neale Donald Walsch

36. "Must we argue word choice? Now?"
Author: Rachel Caine

37. "Watching someone you love… die? There are no words for how broken that makes a person. It's like waking up from a bad dream only to find out that it's you reality, it's like watching sunlight fade from the sky, like watching death suck the one you love dry, and being powerless to stop it. You may as well try to stop the waves from rolling in, or the sun from rising.In the end, the waves will roll, the sun will set, and death will come. The only thing you have a choice in? How you deal with it…when it does."
Author: Rachel Van Dyken

38. "Very well then! I'll write, write write. He let the words soak into his mind and displace all else.A man had a choice, after all. He devoted his life to his work or to his wife and children and home. It could not be combined; not in this day and age. In this insane world where God was second to income and goodness to wealth."
Author: Richard Matheson

39. "Seth laughed when he saw me."Hey," I said, poking him with my foot, "be nice.""I think this is the first time I've ever seen you look anything less than…" He paused, playing with word choice. "Well-planned.""Why, you silver-tongued romantic devil. That is the look I usually go for. Other women go for sexy or chic or beautiful. But me? Well-planned all the way.""You know what I mean. Besides, unplanned isn't a bad look for you. Not bad at all."His voice sounded deliciously low and dangerous, and something ignited between us as we held each other's eyes."
Author: Richelle Mead

40. "Never feel like or say you are "giving up" your favorite foods. Those words have a negative connotation, like you are sacrificing something. You're not "giving up" anything. You are simply empowered now and able to make educated, controlled choices about what you will and won't put into your body, your temple."
Author: Rory Freedman

41. "A word out of place or an interesting choice of vocabulary can spawn a whole character."
Author: Sara Sheridan

42. "Rich is my word for someone who can afford to make choices, who has enough resources to do more than merely survive."
Author: Seth Godin

43. "I had worked for a newspaper of sorts, word got around, and I became editor of our local school newspaper, The Drum. I don't recall being given any choice in this matter; I think I was simply appointed. My second-in-command, Danny Emond, had even less interest in the paper than I did. Danny just liked the idea that Room 4, where we did our work, was near the girls' bathroom. "Someday I'll just go crazy and hack my way in there, Steve," he told me on more than one occasion. "Hack, hack, hack." Once he added, perhaps in an effort to justify himself: "The prettiest girls in school pull up their skirts in there." This struck me as so fundamentally stupid it might actually be wise, like a Zen Koan or an early story by John Updike."
Author: Stephen King

44. "To be read. To be heard. To be seen. I want to be read, I want to be heard. I don't need to be seen. To write requires an ego, a belief that what you say matters. Writing also requires an aching curiosity leading you to discover, uncover, what is gnawing at your bones. Words have a weight to them. How you choose to present them and to whom is a matter of style and choice."
Author: Terry Tempest Williams

45. "Fate is just another word for people's choices coming to a head. Destiny, coincidence, whatever you name it. It inevitably lies in our hands."
Author: Tiffanie DeBartolo

46. "We throw the word around so much that it is nearly meaningless. We've reduced the experience of 'being in love' to that which can be summarized in a pop-song or portrayed in a chick flick. Then we're angry and disillusioned when love disappoints. Here's a little secret: love always disappoints. It's the conscious choice to love someone or not to love someone, despite the disappointment, that makes it beautiful."
Author: Ty Roth

47. "No one will be forced to take the public option. The word option means choice."
Author: Valerie Jarrett

48. "You will be the first test subject, Tobias. Beatrice, however...." She smiles. "You are too injured to be of much use to me, so your execution will occur at the conclusion of this meeting."I try to hide the shudder that goes through me at the word "execution," my shoulder screaming with pain, and look up at Tobias. It's hard to blink tears back when I see the terror in Tobias's wide, dark eyes."No," says Tobias. His voice trembles, but his look stern as he shakes his head. "I would rather die.""I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice in that matter," replies Jeanine lightly.Tobias takes my face in this hands roughly and kisses me, the pressure of his lips pushing mine apart. I forget my pain and the terror of approaching death and for a moment, I am grateful that the memory of that kiss will be fresh in my mind as I meet my end."
Author: Veronica Roth

49. "Cynthia had been on friendly terms with an eccentric librarian called Porlock who in the last years of his dusty life had been engaged in examining old books for miraculous misprints such as the substitution of "1" for the second "h" in the word "hither." Contrary to Cynthia, he cared nothing for the thrill of obscure predictions; all he sought was the freak itself, the chance that mimics choice, the flaw that looks like a flower; and Cynthia, a much more perverse amateur of misshapen or illicitly connected words, puns, logogriphs, and so on, had helped the poor crank to pursue a quest that in the light of the example she cited struck me as statistically insane. ("The Vane Sisters")"
Author: Vladimir Nabokov

50. "Gabe realized he was standing there alone, with a goofy smile on his face. Limping inside, he closed the door behind him, her words still lingering in his mind. Gabe wanted more than anything to be able to choose happiness. He wanted a rain storm to make him smile. He desired that the simple task of cooking would make him dance. To Gabe, however, it didn't seem as simple as just making a choice. He hoped her joy was contagious, because he was in uncharted territories."
Author: Wendy Owens

Word Choice Quotes Pictures