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Action Verb Library

Searchable, copy-friendly list of measurable verbs grouped by Bloom's revised taxonomy. Plus the verbs to avoid (and what to use instead).

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Remember

15 of 15 verbs

Recall facts, definitions, and basic concepts. The lowest cognitive demand — useful for foundational vocabulary, but rarely sufficient on its own.

Understand

14 of 14 verbs

Explain ideas or concepts in your own words. Demonstrates that information has been processed, not just retained.

Apply

15 of 15 verbs

Use information in new situations. The first level where a learner is doing something visible with what they know.

Analyze

14 of 14 verbs

Break information into parts and explore relationships. Where evaluation moves from memorisation to reasoning.

Evaluate

15 of 15 verbs

Justify a position or decision against criteria. The level where learners defend choices and weigh trade-offs.

Create

15 of 15 verbs

Produce new or original work. The highest cognitive demand — synthesise existing knowledge into something that didn't exist before.

Avoid these

Not measurable

You can't observe a learner "understanding" or "knowing" something — only what they do to demonstrate it. Replace each with a verb from the list above that describes the visible behaviour you actually want.

understandNot observable. You can't see understanding from across the room. Try: explain, describe, summarize, predict
knowA hidden mental state. Even the learner often can't tell if they "know" until tested. Try: define, list, identify, recall
learnDescribes the process, not the outcome. Every objective is implicitly about "learning"; the question is what they'll <em>do</em>. Try: demonstrate, apply, use, perform
appreciateVague affective state. If you mean an attitude, write that explicitly with a behaviour ("articulate the value of…"). Try: articulate, describe, justify
be familiar withSets the lowest possible bar and is unmeasurable. If "familiarity" is what you want, you usually mean "recognise" or "identify". Try: recognize, identify, list
be aware ofSame problem as "familiar with" — implies passive exposure rather than a demonstrable skill. Try: identify, describe, list
comprehendSynonym of "understand". Same issue — it describes an internal state. Try: explain, summarize, paraphrase
graspMetaphor, not behaviour. Replace with whatever the learner actually does once they've "grasped" the idea. Try: explain, apply, demonstrate
realizeInternal cognitive shift. Test it through articulation or application instead. Try: articulate, identify, distinguish

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About this list

Bloom's revised taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001) groups cognitive demand into six levels — Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, Create — each described by a family of action verbs. Using the right verb forces an objective to describe an observable behaviour rather than an internal state, which is why action verbs are the foundation of every modern instructional-design framework.

Why "understand" is on the avoid list. "Understand" describes a hidden mental state. You can't tell from across the room whether a learner understands something. You can tell whether they can explain, compare, summarize, or predict — and those are the things you can write a quiz question or task around. The same applies to "know", "learn", "appreciate", "be familiar with", and similar fluffy verbs.

The lists here are curated from common ID references (Anderson & Krathwohl, ATD, the University of Iowa CTL, the Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt) and intentionally short — about 15 verbs per level. A bloated 200-verb list isn't more useful; it just makes the choice harder. If you need a verb you don't see here, search the original sources or pick the closest match.