can you quote swear words in essays

AP Style Obscenities, Profanities, Vulgarities

Home » AP Style » AP Style Obscenities, Profanities, Vulgarities

AP Style holds that you should not use obscenities in stories unless they are part of direct quotations and there is a compelling reason for them.

Try to find a way to give the reader a sense of what was said without using the specific word or phrase. If a profanity, obscenity, or vulgarity must be used, flag the story at the top with the following,

Eds: Story includes vulgarity (or graphic content, etc.)

Confine the offending language, in quotation marks, to a separate paragraph that can be deleted easily by editors who do not want to use it.

In reporting profanity that normally would use the words “damn” or “god,” lowercase “god” and use the following forms,

• “god-damn it”

Do not change “damn it” to “darn it.”

If a full quote that contains an obscenity, profanity, of vulgarity cannot be dropped but there is no compelling reason for the offensive language, replace the letter of the offensive word with hyphens, using only an initial letter. In some stories or scripts, it may be better to replace the offensive word with a generic descriptive in parenthesis, e.g. (vulgarity) or (obscenity).

When the subject matter of a story may be considered offensive, but the story does not contain quoted profanity, obscenities, or vulgarities, flag the story at the top with the following,

Eds: Story may be offensive to some readers.

For guidelines on racial or ethnic slurs, see AP Style Nationalities and Races .

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.

• Link to facebook
• Link to linkedin
• Link to twitter
• Link to youtube
• Writing Tips

Heck and Darn! How and When to Swear in Writing

• 5-minute read
• 6th August 2020

Authors use swear words in writing for various reasons, including to express strong emotions, add emphasis, shock readers or break taboos, or just to reflect how people talk in the real world (e.g., in dialogue).

But swearing can also offend people, especially if it is gratuitous. When, then, is it okay to swear in your writing ? Key factors include:

• Who you are writing for and how sensitive they are to profanity.
• How formal or professional the document needs to be.
• The intensity of the swearwords you use in your writing.

In this post, then, we’ll look at when (and when not) to swear in your writing, plus what you can do instead of swearing when it isn’t appropriate.

Who Is Your Audience?

The biggest factor when deciding whether to use profanity in your writing is the target audience. For example, swearing is obviously inappropriate if you are writing for children. Likewise, if you’re writing for adults who have very traditional views , they may be easily offended by bad language.

In cases like these, it’s best to avoid any swearing or to keep it very mild.

Swearing in Formal Writing

Swear words are rarely, if ever, appropriate in formal business or academic writing . At best, it would seem unprofessional. At worst, you could lose marks on an essay or lose a client at work.

There are some exceptions to this: if you’re studying the history of offensive language, for example, you will need to include the terms you’re discussing. But even in cases like this, you would restrict profanity to examples or quotes, not use it as part of your general writing style.

Swearing in Informal and Creative Writing

In less formal writing, there is much more room for profanity! If you’re simply emailing a friend, for instance, you are welcome to be as obscene as you like (as long as the recipient is comfortable with bad language).

In creative writing, meanwhile, swearing can be a key part of your writing style. In gritty war or crime novels, for example, a little profanity can help to create a realistic atmosphere. But you should only do this when it fits the context: constant cursing may feel out of place in a period drama about the upper classes, for instance, since we would not expect the well-mannered characters in such a book to swear all the time.

If you’re unsure about whether to use swear words in your creative writing, look at some books in your genre for pointers. Do the narrators or characters use swear words? Do they fit the tone of the novel as a whole?

Intensity of Swear Words

You may also need to consider the intensity of the swear words you use in your writing. Some swear words, for example, are considered very offensive (e.g., the f-word or the c-word). And while stronger profanities are more likely to have an impact, they are also more likely to cause offence.

Other swear words are much milder, though. And a character saying “drat” or “darn” is unlikely to shock anyone these days. So if you want to swear without causing offence, it is best to pick a mild swear word.

Find this useful?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.

The intensity of swear words can also vary across cultures. The word “w*nker,” for instance, is much less offensive in the USA than the UK. As such, American TV shows have used it for comic effect, but then caused much outrage when they were broadcast before the watershed in the UK. And Australia is famous for its relaxed attitude to swearing.

Even swear words like “damn” or “hell,” which may seem mild by modern standards, can offend people who are very religious. As such, if you are going to swear in writing, it pays to choose your profanities carefully!

Alternatives to Swearing

What, then, can you do instead of swearing in your writing? If all you’re looking for is a way to add emphasis to something, the simplest approach is to use another intensifier . For example, compare the following:

The show was bloody amazing!

The show was really amazing!

This might lack the impact of a swear word in some cases, but it expresses the same thing without any risk of causing offence.

There are also many creative ways to tone down swear-worthy moments, which can even add a touch of humor! These include:

• Child-friendly alternatives to curse words: e.g., Flipping heck!
• Using symbols in place of swears: e.g., What the f*@% are they thinking?
• Completely made-up words that have a similar sound or feel to existing swear words: e.g., “frak” in Battlestar Galactica or “smeg” in Red Dwarf .

 These will give you all the fun of swearing without any of the offence!

Summary: When to Swear in Writing

Whether to use swear words in your writing is ultimately a matter of personal preference. But we can offer some helpful guidelines on the topic:

• Do not use swear words in formal business or academic writing.
• Think about whether your audience would be offended by bad language.
• Only use swear words in creative writing when it fits the context.

In general, moreover, it is wise to hold back on profanity in writing. The odd swear word can be expressive, adding emotion and emphasis to what you’re saying. But excessive cursing will blunt this effect, so the best approach to swearing is usually to save it for when it will have the greatest impact.

To make sure your writing strikes the right tone every time, moreover, why not try out our professional proofreading services ?

Share this article:

Post A New Comment

Got content that needs a quick turnaround? Let us polish your work. Explore our editorial business services.

9-minute read

How to Use Infographics to Boost Your Presentation

Is your content getting noticed? Capturing and maintaining an audience’s attention is a challenge when...

8-minute read

Why Interactive PDFs Are Better for Engagement

Are you looking to enhance engagement and captivate your audience through your professional documents? Interactive...

7-minute read

Seven Key Strategies for Voice Search Optimization

Voice search optimization is rapidly shaping the digital landscape, requiring content professionals to adapt their...

4-minute read

Five Creative Ways to Showcase Your Digital Portfolio

Are you a creative freelancer looking to make a lasting impression on potential clients or...

How to Ace Slack Messaging for Contractors and Freelancers

Effective professional communication is an important skill for contractors and freelancers navigating remote work environments....

3-minute read

How to Insert a Text Box in a Google Doc

Google Docs is a powerful collaborative tool, and mastering its features can significantly enhance your...

Make sure your writing is the best it can be with our expert English proofreading and editing.

How to Censor a Curse Word in an Essay

Are you wondering how to censor a curse word in an essay? When writing papers in school, you will often be in a dilemma on how to handle curse words in essays. Curse words bring out strong emotions, and leaving them out may water down your writing. However, you must balance so that you do not appear unprofessional.

Luckily, there are many ways to do this in your submission. But the primary aspect to consider is your audience and your paper’s purpose. This post explains how you can censor swear words in an essay and how to handle curse word quotes.

In essay writing, you can use many words to express anger or frustration. However, some words may not be appropriate for an essay if you want to maintain a good grade and appear professional.

New Service Alert !!!

We are now taking exams and courses

Furthermore, many curse words are considered vulgar and inappropriate for academic writing. And to avoid using them in your essay, there are several techniques that you can use, such as using multiple symbols or a single symbol to replace the entire word or part of the letters.

Also see: Can you curse in a college essay? 

Additionally, censoring a curse word in an essay is a common practice in the writing sphere. And to help you, here are the tips and tricks on how to handle these words.

• Replace all but the first letter with a symbol

This is the most common way to censor a curse word and is commonly used in essays, emails, and other forms of writing. The technique involves replacing all but the first letter of a curse word with a symbol to censor it. The symbol can be any mark or sign, but it needs to be easily identifiable.

The technique involves replacing all but the first letter with a symbol, such as an asterisk. It’s often used among writers who want to be more professional or if writing for a specific audience, such as students.

For example, if it is the F-word, it will be censored to read F***

• Use dashes to replace letters

Dashes are one of the most effective ways to censor a curse word in an essay. They don’t draw attention to themselves, and they don’t draw attention away from the sentence. If you use them correctly, they’ll go unnoticed.

Here are some tips.

• Use one dash for each letter in the word you want to censor.
• Don’t use more than two dashes in one sentence; it will look like a mistake instead of censorship.
• Don’t use more than three dashes in one paragraph unless you’re quoting someone else
• Use multiple symbols to replace the entire word

This is an excellent way to censor a word yet achieve your goal of passing your message while still removing vulgar and profanity in your writing.

However, depending on the curse word you intend to censor, it might be challenging. This is because the symbols used should look almost similar to the word so that readers do not take too mus time figuring out the word censored.

Nevertheless, you can use different symbols that do not resemble the word. This is ideal if the curse word is ordinary and readers will not struggle to guess it.

Can You Swear in a Formal Essay?

Generally, it is not advisable to swear in formal and college essays because different professors may take it differently. Some will be okay with it, while others will frown upon it. Therefore, if you do not know your professor’s reaction, it is best to avoid swearing. Ideally, you can swear in a formal essay, but not excessively or in the wrong context.

Formal essays require the use of professional language. Thus, the use of swear words presents you as unprofessional and disrespectful. However, if the swear word makes your piece more appealing and emotional, you can swear. The primary reason for avoiding swearing in formal essays is that it is not the right tone to use in such writing, even though it might sound funny and cool.

Nevertheless, putting your essay into context is crucial by asking whether the word you intend to use has any significant effect. If its use does not improve your paper, experts recommend not using it and vice versa.

On the other hand, informal essays are meant to be casual and fun, so they can be more relaxed in terms of prose. If you’re writing an informal essay, you can use profanity as long as it’s not excessive or offensive to others.

How Do You Replace a Curse Word in an Essay?

The best way to replace a curse word in an essay is by using an appropriate synonym or avoiding the word altogether. Additionally, if you cannot drop the whole curse word, you can replace part of the letters with hyphens, only leaving the first letter.

However, the best way is to get the context of use to determine if its use is necessary. If it’s not mandatory, you’ll need to find a suitable replacement for the curse word and ensure it fits within the context of your essay.¸ The use of synonyms entails using similar or closely-related words but less vulgar and profane.

How to Handle Swear Words in Quote

The general rule of handling swear words in quotes is to use them as they are or remove them entirely but use a footnote to indicate your removal. In most cases, the assumption is that the readers are adults and know the effect of swear words.

Additionally, swear words indicate a strong emotion, and not using them, especially if it is an interview, you will not be presenting the true nature of your interview. In fact, if it is a science-based paper, partial censorship of such words is misleading, pointless, and a false misrepresentation of your research, otherwise known as scientific misconduct.

Another way to handle swear words is by checking with your editor or professor. Even though it is generally accepted to quote swear words verbatim, further guidance from experts, especially if the essay is for publication, is recommended. This is essential because you will either avoid penalties or the long route of revisions if the words are unacceptable.

Nevertheless, how you handle these words depends on the context of their use and your audience. Even though there is a generally accepted rule, sometimes this may change from institution to institution. Therefore, always look at the context to help you decide how to handle swear words.

How to Use Expletives Effectively in Your Writing

#scribendiinc

Part 4 in Our Series on the Grammar of Swearing

Written by Taylor Dennis

You've learned a lot about swearing over the past few weeks. Now it's time to wrap the lesson up by discussing when it is okay and when it is abso-frickin'-lutely not okay to swear in your writing.

Swearing in Academic Writing

Don't do it. Unless you are writing a thesis about the linguistics of swearing or quoting something else that contains swearing, there is no reason for the use of profanity in your academic writing. I know—school is boring.

Swearing in Personal Correspondence

How you talk to your friends is your business, but keep this in mind: something that is intended as light-hearted or humorous can easily come off as harsh and mean when in writing, and adding profanity can be a sure way to cause miscommunication. Consider these two similar situations.

Situation 1: You are hanging out with your best friend. She admits that she has forgotten her mother's birthday. You laugh, but in a way that seems understanding, not judgemental. You then say, jokingly, "Oh my god, what the hell is wrong with you?" After this, you laugh a bit more, she laughs with you, and then the conversation naturally moves on to what she should buy for her mother.

Situation 2: You are texting your best friend.

Her: I forgot my mom's birthday!

You: omg what the hell is wrong with you?

She becomes offended because she thinks you are serious, though you really did intend it lightheartedly. She gets mad at you. You spend the next 20 minutes texting, trying to convince her that you were joking. You now have to take her out for dinner tomorrow to try to mend her hurt feelings. Thanks to your cell phone, you are now out at least 30 bucks.

Even if you are very, very close with someone, be careful about your use of swearing in casual correspondence, like texting, online messaging, email, and even phone conversations. If you just remember that technology is the worst thing ever, you should be fine.

Swearing in Professional Writing

Swearing in fiction or other creative writing.

As you've probably figured out by now, swearing is a very big part of casual language. You swear, your friends swear, your parents swear—most people swear. So it's only natural that, as an author, you might find it necessary to incorporate swearing into your writing to create realistic characters.

But how should this be done? The trick to using swearing in your writing is not to overdo it. Many novice writers feel the need to inject their fiction with the harshest of expletives to communicate a mood or to represent the character and that character's situation as authentically as possible.

There are two problems with this approach. First, it's lazy. There are other ways, better ways, to communicate mood, character, and setting to your reader. Second, it's incredibly off-putting to the reader. This is because swear words are not like other words; regardless of the context, swear words elicit an emotional response .

Swearing and Emotional Responses

People have emotional reactions to reading or hearing swear words. Even if they do not feel offended, their attention is caught by the use of a taboo word. In fact, swear words are so tied to emotion that many people with dementia still swear even if they struggle with other speech-related tasks . Some researchers postulate that this is because swear words are remembered in a different part of the brain than regular words. Interestingly, researchers have also suggested that the effect of swearing lessens the more one uses or is exposed to curse words.

There are two things to take from this. First, the overuse of curse words can elicit an unintentional emotional response in your reader—one that might make them not want to continue reading. No matter how "gritty" you want your writing to be, you still want people to actually read it. Second, remember that saving swearing for a very important moment will be much more effective than sprinkling curses throughout your work.

Say, for example, that you're writing a novel about a housewife who is having a breakdown. If she's calling her friends to drop f-bombs from page one, then the climactic scene in which she leaves her husband won't be progressed or helped at all by the use of strong language. The language should help represent the breakdown she has experienced, which means it should only be used in a way that intentionally shocks the readers.

Well, friends, that concludes our in-depth series on swearing. I hope you had an effin' amazing time learning about the background and uses of some of your favorite vulgar phrases, and I hope you'll keep this information in mind during your future work.

If you haven't checked out the rest of the series yet, be sure to read the previous posts on the origins of swear words , the history of obscenity , and the grammar of swearing . I also recommend checking out Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing for more interesting information!

Image source: deagreez/BigStockPhoto.com

Discover the Benefits of Professional Editing

Hire a professional editor , or get a free sample, about the author.

Taylor Dennis is a writer and editor based out of Toronto, ON. She's obsessed with dogs, food, serial commas, and the written word, pretty much exactly in that order. You can find more of her work at taylordenniswrites.com , where she publishes a blog about life, health, and all the rest.

Have You Read?

"The Complete Beginner's Guide to Academic Writing"

Related Posts

A History of Swearing and Censorship in Writing

How to Swear: Understanding the Grammar of the Top 7 Curse Words

The Etymology of the Top 7 Curse Words

Upload your file(s) so we can calculate your word count, or enter your word count manually.

We will also recommend a service based on the file(s) you upload.

English is not my first language. I need English editing and proofreading so that I sound like a native speaker.

I need to have my journal article, dissertation, or term paper edited and proofread, or I need help with an admissions essay or proposal.

I have a novel, manuscript, play, or ebook. I need editing, copy editing, proofreading, a critique of my work, or a query package.

I need editing and proofreading for my white papers, reports, manuals, press releases, marketing materials, and other business documents.

I need to have my essay, project, assignment, or term paper edited and proofread.

I want to sound professional and to get hired. I have a resume, letter, email, or personal document that I need to have edited and proofread.

 Prices include your personal % discount.

 Prices include % sales tax ( ).

Quotes When Nothing Is Being Quoted

Authors often use quotation marks when nothing is being quoted. The marks may indicate irony, skepticism, derision—as such, they are sometimes called scare quotes . They distance an author from a term: “Others say this, but I wouldn’t.” Example: “Bob experienced the ‘catastrophe’ of having his tooth pulled.” Bob may have thought it was a catastrophe, but the author of the sentence is letting us know that she does not.

Such distancing is particularly important when a topic is politically sensitive: authors do not want their readers to think, even for a moment, that they endorse a racist or sexist opinion that they are describing or giving an account of.

Quotation marks may also suggest that the term so singled out has a sense slightly different from what is usually meant by it. Example: “Bob wore his usual ‘suit’ to the interview.” The author of the sentence is suggesting that it was not actually a suit. Perhaps Bob pulls out the same threadbare, rumpled blazer whenever he needs to dress up. Or perhaps Bob only ever wears a hoodie and jeans—his version of business attire.

Quotation marks may also be used to emphasize or highlight a term, much as italics or capitalization can serve as a typographic aid to draw attention. Example: “At the ‘burger joint,’ Bob ordered sushi.” The author of the sentence doesn’t want us to miss the culinary incongruity.

The context and the writing may make the intention of the quotation marks clear, but more often than not there is no such clarity. Precisely because there are so many possible ways to interpret quotation marks that are not used for quotation, some uncertainty results, some ambiguity—and, even if the ambiguity is a relatively small matter, we recommend against using them or using them sparingly and with explanation.

13 Comments

Connie beglinger 05 june 2017 at 09:06 pm.

Quote from another source: "Now is the time for all good men." Now I want to use this quote in my paper. How do I punctuate? "'Now is the time for all good men.'"

Your e-mail address will not be published

Michael Kandel 07 June 2017 AT 01:06 PM

Double quotes alone do the job. (We will have coterminous double and single quotes only around a short title for a parenthetical reference, where the short title is taken from a quote that begins the title--uncommon and not worth worrying about.)

sevda 30 April 2020 AT 09:04 AM

when I can use single quotations? I know in double quotations. But where else? For example, if I quote a term before and I want to use it later in my paper Can I use it in single quotation marks? Thank you.

Jennifer A. Rappaport 30 April 2020 AT 01:04 PM

Thanks for your question. In MLA style, single quotation marks are generally only used within double quotation marks. We use italics for terms and words used as words.

Constance Gurney 02 December 2020 AT 11:12 AM

A student wants to draw attention to the term bad person in her essay. She has used single quotations. I would use double. Or should she italicize.

Jennifer A. Rappaport 03 December 2020 AT 07:12 AM

Thanks for your question. In MLA style, italics are used for emphasis, but we recommend using italics for this purpose sparingly.

Suchetana Sarkar 08 December 2020 AT 01:12 PM

Can I use a word or phrase within single quotations when I want to express that the quoted word/ phrase has deeper underlying meaning and/ or is a controversial word?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 09 December 2020 AT 07:12 AM

Thanks for your question. In MLA style, double quotation marks are used in this case.

Janet 29 July 2021 AT 12:07 PM

I know that we should be using double quotes to identify that a word is ironic or used with some reservation. But, if this word appears in the same sentence as a quotation, how do I indicate the difference between the quote and the word that I used ironically?

Laura Kiernan 24 September 2021 AT 02:09 PM

We would suggest rephrasing the sentence so both the quotation and the ironically used term are not in the same sentence. If rephrasing isn't possible, you could include an endnote that makes it clear that the word is being used ironically and is not part of the quotation elsewhere in sentence.

Eli 13 September 2022 AT 05:09 AM

Continuing this question - if the ironic word is far from a quote but is in what is intended as an academic paper with many other quotes, does not citing it do enough to distinguish this difference or is there a more accepted way of distinguishing the two beyond distance?

Julie R 26 January 2023 AT 03:01 PM

I read a post recently written by a guy who had been scammed by someone identifying themselves as an employee of Microsoft. In his post the guy used quotation marks around the word "someone" to indicate the scammer was not actually from Microsoft like this: ... from "someone" at Microsoft. (I left out the other quotes. They muddled the example.) A reader replied to his post saying the quotes should have been around Microsoft. She said the someone wasn't questionable. That they were from Microsoft was. To me it makes it feels better with the quotes around the entire phrase, "someone at Microsoft". Which is correct?

Student 11 March 2023 AT 11:03 PM

Hi, I am a college student writing an essay about Nella Larsen's Passing in which a character uses the N word. My question is how do I quote instances of derogatory vocabulary in an academic paper?

Join the Conversation

We invite you to comment on this post and exchange ideas with other site visitors. Comments are moderated and subject to terms of service.

If you have a question for the MLA's editors, submit it to Ask the MLA!

• Antisocial Media

How to Write Swearing

Swearing, in the modern western world, appears constantly, and the impact of the words is less than it was a century ago where obscenity was tried in court. That being said, to include swearing effectively requires a balance of conviction and control, as worrying about the use of a word will weaken it. This guide is to illustrate that by not worrying about a particular word, or combination of words, the power they deliver can be maximised.

To swear effectively on the page you must be confident in placing that word there. Shying away from it, especially if it is a word you find you have to use, will only cause damage to the paragraph you are working on. That doesn’t mean you have to swear—you can allude to or insinuate your word choices just as effectively—but instead that you must follow-through with your decision to swear or use a taboo word.

As a warning, this essay is full of very bad language.

Terminology

The words you use when writing swearing can complete or destroy a scene. Much like any other element of your writing, don’t just include swearing for the sake of it. Bad language must benefit your story; whether it is a character that swears or it is integrated into the narrative, it needs to be there for a reason. To paraphrase Samuel Taylor Coleridge: if they are the right words for that sentence, and in the best order, then that is what you should write.

But while I was sitting down, I saw something that drove me crazy. Somebody’d written “Fuck you” on the wall. It drove me damn near crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it, and how they’d wonder what the hell it meant, and then finally some dirty kid would tell them—all cockeyed, naturally—what it meant, and how they’d all think about it and maybe even worry about it for a couple of days. I kept wanting to kill whoever’d written it. I figured it was some perverty bum that’d sneaked in the school late at night to take a leak or something and then wrote it on the wall. I kept picturing myself catching him at it, and how I’d smash his head on the stone steps till he was good and goddam dead and bloody. But I knew, too, I wouldn’t have the guts to do it. I knew that. That made me even more depressed. J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

In this extract the narrator quotes obscene graffiti and then proceeds to explain his rage using what were, at the time, similarly profane words. The frequent uses of ‘damn’ and ‘goddam’ were enough to cause controversy upon publication and the novel is still contentious in some parts of the world. Salinger used these words specifically to show the antagonistic nature of the protagonist and his separation from the status quo, whilst denying him realisation of the irony of his word choices to express his outrage during this scene.

Words that are explicit or viewed as profanity change with time, and so the setting and period of a story has some bearing over what is said. A rich and vibrant environment can be created using the right words, and swearing is part of that tapestry that writers weave.

‘Aye, you’re not gonnae be the smart cunt in there!’ the policeman says. Focus on his face. It’ll help keep the shrinking back. He’s got green eyes, a squint nose, and the hair on his neck and forearms is thick as fucking pelt. You’re giving me the boak, fuck-pus. He’s loving this. They’re wanted my banged up away from town and their stations, for how long? They think if they put me far enough away then I cannae get in trouble. Aye. Okay. There’s still buses, fanny-heads, I umnay behind locked doors yet. The policeman is watching me in his rear-view mirror. He gave me a stoater of a slap yesterday. Old radgio el fuckmong, I call him, old cunt-pus himself. Jenni Fagan, The Panopticon

The words used by Fagan’s fifteen-year-old narrator are so much part of her vernacular that they begin to lose their impact, but that is intentional. The use of Scottish dialect adds to the feel of the voice and the terminology suits the character, the setting, and the time-period of the novel.

Swearing, like any other expression, needs to suit both the characters and the story. If the words are not required they should not be there; but if they are needed, be sure to include them and use the right ones.

One of the main criticisms with swearing in writing is how unnatural it feels when forced onto the page. People swear in certain ways, and it is important to understand how and why they do to effectively swear in your work.

Listen to how people talk. When you are in a bar, or on the bus, or in the street, eavesdrop on conversations. The way people swear is integrated into their vernacular; it is part of how they speak.

‘You prick,’ I told Jimmy, ‘you make me sick.’ ‘I know you didn’t mean that, Hank,’ he said. Jimmy walked into the kitchen. ‘She’s got a nice family. She lives here with her father, mother and brother. Her brother knows I’m going to fuck her. He’s right. But there’s nothing he can do about it because I can beat the shit out of him. He’s nothing. Hey, watch this!’ Charles Bukowski, Ham on Rye

The characters in this scene, particularly Jimmy, use swearing to accentuate what they are saying, either as loose insults to each other or to stress specific points. Bukowski crafts natural conversation that reads, despite its subject matter, as something that could easily be overheard given the right setting.

Swearing tends to fall into two categories: conscious and subconscious. Conscious swearing is where people choose to use a certain word to make or emphasise a point, whereas subconscious swearing is accidental as it has become part of their everyday speech. Conscious swearing is the easiest type to write, as it is a deliberate action on the part of the individual; swearing is included to increase the strength of a statement or question, with intention and purpose. Subconscious swearing can be harder to master, but done properly, this can lead to seamless dialogue. The key is finding the rhythm of the character’s conversation and punctuating it accordingly with swear words, the way the character would.

I didnt think yahung around with those kindda fucks. Theyre o k sometimes. Theyre always good for loot when they got it and they getya high when yawanna. Stick around. She may be around later, smiling. Hahaha, rolling the chair back to the desk. I dont go for that shit. Im strickly a cunt man myself. I was just wonderin how come than ya could fuck in a year. Shit, last night I had ta chase one away, a good lookin bitch too, but I promised the old lady Id throw a fuck inner, you know how it is. Hubert Selby Jr., Last Exit to Brooklyn

The conversational, everyman prose Selby writes in is amplified by the casual, repeated swearing, including using profanity as placeholder words in dialogue instead of ‘um’ or ‘so’ thereby lending gritty realism to the vernacular. The slang further adds to the feel of the story as a tale told verbally and then transcribed to the page. By numbing the reader with recurring coarse language, Selby is then able to tackle other, more taboo subjects without overt shock, allowing the issues addressed to come to the fore in a naturalistic and relatable fashion.

Whether the word or words you are using are for effect or punctuation, ensure they sound right in the character’s voice and dialect. As with all dialogue, and inner monologue, everyone talks slightly differently and this needs to be reflected. Slang and cursing take on different methods of delivery and grammatical reasoning within different areas, and that can be used to your advantage within your writing.

Swearing shouldn’t just be thrown in, but used to enhance or change the pace. Words can increase the flow of a paragraph or stop it dead, and swear words hold particular emphasis. Using them well can change the entire dynamic of a scene, whether that is because they break up sentences, or as they are dropped in naturally and without consequence.

No, not like that. A barren land, bare waste. Vulcanic lake, the dead sea: no fish, weedless, sunk deep in the earth. No wind would lift those waves, grey metal, poisonous foggy waters. Brimstone they called it raining down: the cities of the plain: Sodom, Gomorrah, Edom. All dead names. A dead sea in a dead land, grey and old. Old now. It bore the oldest, the first race. A bent hag crossed from Cassidy’s clutching a noggin bottle by the neck. The oldest people. Wandered far away over all the earth, captivity to captivity, multiplying, dying, being born everywhere. It lay there now. Now it could bear no more. Dead: an old woman’s: the grey sunken cunt of the world. James Joyce, Ulysses

Here Joyce builds on his description of the scene around his protagonist and combines the character’s thoughts with the narration, entwining the two and using the setting as an analogy for the character’s mood. The scene builds in detail and draws both the barren landscape and protagonist’s morbid thoughts together into a single metaphor that is delivered through the only use of the word ‘cunt’ in the novel.

Swear words can specifically punctuate a point or be used to add impact to a moment within a story, but equally can be used to desensitise the reader through their frequency.

You can forgive a young cunt anything. A young cunt doesn’t have to have brains. They’re better without brains. But an old cunt, even if she’s brilliant, even if she’s the most charming woman in the world, nothing makes any difference. A young cunt is an investment; an old cunt is a dead loss. All they can do for you is buy you things. But that doesn’t put meat on their arms or juice between their legs. Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer

Miller dismisses the profanity of the repeated word by using it as a general, almost subconscious description of a woman. This speech by Carl, a friend of the novel’s narrator, demonstrates both his misogynistic character and his lack of inhibition when uttering what is widely considered to be the most offensive word in the English language in such a habitual and throwaway manner. The repeating of the word punctuates the speech, leading to an echo-like pace that both magnifies and breaks up the character’s bigoted tirade.

Swearing can stop a reader mid-sentence, defining an intentional pause, or it can draw them further into a scene and create a more immersive setting. Either way, it is a formidable tool for setting or changing the pace and needs to be used sensibly and with consideration. It can be a way to both further engross your readers whilst simultaneously repelling them. The most successful explicit writing works much the same as witnessing a tragic accident: you want to look away but are drawn to observing in greater detail than you would usually. By creating that contradictory sense, one of both fascination and revulsion, you can truly craft visceral and engaging moments within your writing.

Further Reading

Writing exercises, practical tasks.

Privacy Overview

How to Censor a Curse Word in an Essay: Strategies and Points to Consider

You’re working on an essay, and for one reason or another, you need to use curse words. What do you do? How to censor swear words in writing?

You need to consider both the audience and the purpose of your essay before deciding how to proceed .

When you finish reading this article and all the great links I’ve found for you, you’ll be able to do the following:

• Assess the purpose and audience you’re writing for.
• Identify whether using curse words is appropriate and why.
• Use curse words appropriately.
• How to censor a curse word in an essay effectively when necessary.
• Warn a reader that the essay uses curse words.
• Identify whether you should use other informal, negative words in an essay.

As a long-time professional writer and teacher of writing, I’ve written many essays and other pieces both with and without curse words. I can help you figure out when you should and shouldn’t use this kind of language and how to replace it when you need to.

Why Do You Need Curse Words?

While some people may pepper their speech with curse words, using them casually, they can also convey strong emotions. If you simply leave out a curse word, you might not adequately get across the power of a person’s emotions about a topic.

Curse words can also tell us something about a person and an environment. Nearly everyone uses curse words in just about every type of situation, but when and how a person uses them can add extra information.

For example, if you wrote about someone using a curse word in the middle of a serious religious ceremony or legal proceedings, this would be different from them doing so in a group of friends.

In her essay on “what makes swearing offensive,” philosophy lecturer Rebecca Roache digs deep into how cursing works and argues that inherent in the effectiveness of swearing is the knowledge that the audience will find the word offensive.

Me, on swearing, in @aeonmag https://t.co/9uWsnpNfdp — rebecca roache (@rebecca_roache) February 22, 2016

This is important for you to think about when you considering how swearing appears in your essay. If you use it not as quote but in directly addressing your audience, you could be putting them on the defensive.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, but you should be aware of how cursing will be received.

What Are You Writing and Who Is It For?

The first thing to take into account is what you are writing. Writing an essay or a research paper is different from writing fiction .

The other thing to consider is the audience for your work. If you’re writing an essay for a magazine or website that considers itself contemporary and cutting-edge, this is very different from writing a college application essay.

Should You Use Curse Words in an Essay?

It would be easy to answer this question by just saying that if there is any question about whether this is appropriate, you should err on the side of caution and avoid it.

Unfortunately, the reality is not quite so simple. If you have done interviews with people for research purposes and you alter the language they have used, even if it is vulgar, you risk misrepresenting your research .

Another consideration is that you cannot always predict what might be offensive to a certain audience and that what is considered a curse word can even change over time. Furthermore, if you are writing for posterity, people need to be able to look back decades or perhaps even hundreds of years later and get an accurate recounting of how people spoke.

For example, maybe you are writing about the topic discussed in this article , someone who inspired you. You might want to include a quote from that person even though it has a curse word in it.

There are also situations in which a curse word really is appropriate . For example, if you are writing about an assassin and the strongest word he ever uses is “darn,” what you are writing is not going to seem very believable.

Irish writer Paul McVeigh addresses the use of swearing in his fiction. He points out that “a brutal environment begets a brutal language” and that it would not accurately reflect the world he was writing about if he left this out.

In this #essay I discuss #swearing , #workingclassvoices , #Belfast & my first #shortstory which became #TheGoodSon https://t.co/BwuBwCCX0p — Paul McVeigh Writer (@paul_mc_veigh) July 27, 2017

On the other hand, there are audiences for whom you should clearly avoid cursing, such as very young children. In most professional contexts outside of case studies or other situations where you need to quote people, it would not be appropriate to use curse words not would it be appropriate in a scholarship or college admissions essay .

Censoring Curse Words

What if you really do need to use a curse word, but you are worried about how it will be received by your intended audience? H ow to censor the f word in writing?

If you are writing for an editor, this is exactly what editors are for. If you are unsure, it’s fine to check with the editor and see what the policy of the publication that you are writing for is.

If you are writing for a class, you can also ask your professor.

There are a couple of reasons that you might want to censor the curse word.

One reason is that it might cause offense, and you do not want your audience to stop reading!

However, there is another reason that is related to but not quite the same thing as causing offense. Sometimes, a misplaced curse word can be distracting from your overall point.

So, the next question is how to censor a curse word in an essay when you need to.

Sometimes, when you need to leave out a word or phrase, an ellipses is appropriate. However, it is not the best choice in this situation because you still want to indicate that swear words are used, and an ellipsis does not necessary convey this .

The Associated Press puts out a style guidebook for journalists, and they have good advice about the question: How to censor swear words in writing?

First, they say that you should only use obscenities as part of a direct quote and when there is a good reason for them.

Otherwise, there are two options. You can either use the first word of the swear word followed by several dashes, such as d—, or you can insert a placeholder in parenthesis. (Expletive), (vulgarity) or (obscenity) would all be appropriate.

Personally, I think the second option of using a placeholder in parentheses is a better one. Using the first letter followed by a dash just looks old-fashioned to me.

Should You Warn the Reader?

You want the reader to be on your side, right? That means that if you have determined that you do need to use a curse word, you might want to warn the reader.

The AP has you covered here as well.

Their suggestion that you include a note at the beginning of your piece that says something like “Story contains vulgarities” is a good way to give your reader a heads up if you think it is necessary.

Does this seem like a lot to consider? One reason that writing an essay can feel overwhelming is that it can be time-consuming even for experienced writers.

The above video has some great time management tips that will help you make the overall process more efficient.

What About Not-Quite-Swear-Words?

There are other words that are not curse words but that are negative and maybe too informal for essay writing.

Examples might be “I think that sucks” or “She said something gross.”

Unless you are quoting someone directly, you shouldn’t use these words in essay writing. They are too informal and will reflect badly on you, the writer, even though they aren’t actually offensive.

What if you are doing a presentation instead of writing a paper? The same principles apply about determining the appropriateness of curse words just as you still need to make sure you have avoided plagiarism as discussed here .

Useful Resources

• What is an argumentative essay?
• How to write an essay introduction
• How to write a college essay
• Ending the essay: conclusions

Understanding how powerful language can be and how to present it to your reader is an important part of becoming a strong writer.

You might want to save your decision about how to censor a curse word in an essay for the later stages of your work when you are also checking for things like avoiding plagiarism, as described here .

Deciding when and how to use or censor a curse word in your essay is a matter of balancing the needs of your audience with the integrity of your writing, and the article and links above can help you find that balance.

Is it OK to Use Swear Words in Your Writing?

14 Feb 2017 | Business

Swearing. Cussing. Strong / bad / foul language. Whatever you want to call it … can you use it in your writing?

It’s your writing, and you can do whatever you want!

Of course, there are reasons you might decide against swearing, or reasons why you might moderate your language in different contexts.

Here are a few things to consider.

What Will Your Audience Expect?

Do your readers swear – and do they expect to see swearing coming from you?

Sometimes, subverting expectations can work very well, particularly if you want to make people laugh. For instance, you might use some very strong language on a blog about parenting toddlers and it could be hilarious! Or you might juxtapose strong language with cutesy images.

If it works for you, go for it.

Sometimes, though, going against people’s expectations can really backfire. Maybe you’ve branded yourself as a consummate professional and you have a fairly conservative client base … if you suddenly start tweeting (or even retweeting) posts that include bad language, you could get a strong backlash.

Are You Writing Fiction or Non-Fiction?

If you’re a fiction author, then I think most readers will accept swearing (certainly in dialogue). Sometimes, you’ll have scenes where it would seem downright weird for character not to swear.

Of course, this still depends on your audience. If you’re writing conventional romance, for instance, readers might be really put off by anything more than quite mild curses. They may also have expectations about the types of characters who’ll swear – perhaps minor characters or villains can get away with it, but your heroine won’t be expected to come out with that sort of language.

In non-fiction, swearing can come across as rather gratuitous. This isn’t necessarily a terrible thing, and it may still work as part of your brand. On the other hand, strong language can be a good way to make a forceful point (especially if you don’t use it often) and it may surprise readers out of complacency.

How Do You Feel as a Writer?

Whatever you write, you’ll probably have a certain comfort level around swearing. Maybe you never swear and “gosh” is about as strong as your language gets. Or maybe you swear cheerfully and happily as part of your normal vocabulary.

I never swore as a young teen, though a lot of classmates did. I’ve gotten a lot more relaxed about swearing over the years. I include bad language in my fiction where it’s appropriate for the characters and situation – usually I feel fine with that, though there are one or two words in my Lycopolis series I’d blush to read out loud!

Don’t feel pressured into using swear words, though, if you don’t feel comfortable with them. A couple of my favourite bloggers ( Naomi Dunford and Tim Brownson ) swear all the time, and that’s fine for me as a reader … but I don’t try to emulate them here on Aliventures!

Different Ways to Write Swear Words

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty: how do you actually write swear words? This isn’t quite as simple as it might sound! (I’m assuming you know the spellings…)

There are four main options for this:

• Explicitly: shit .
• With asterisks: sh*t .
• With symbols: &%$£ . (This is the written equivalent of the “beep” over bad language on TV.)
• As reported dialogue: Jon swore.

Personally, my preferences are #1 and #4. I think asterisks look mealy-mouthed – everyone knows the word so you might as well spell it out! – and symbols seem rather old fashioned and unnecessarily coy.

Using Option #1: If you’re going to swear, swear! If not, choose a word that you’re comfortable typing. Maybe “shit” is a bit strong for you, but you’re OK with “crap”.

Using Option #4: If you’re writing about characters who’d use strong language, but in a genre where that actual language would not be appropriate, X swore or X shouted a torrent of abuse or similar is – I think – a good option. You see this quite frequently in children’s literature (e.g. in the Harry Potter books, you’ll get lines like “Ron swore”). It could also be a good option if you’re writing, say, light romance or a story for a women’s magazine like People’s Friend .

The Aliventures newsletter includes a short article on writing, and comes to your inbox every week.

When you join, you also get four free mini-ebooks.

(You can learn more about the newsletter here.)

I’m Ali Luke, and I live in Leeds in the UK with my husband and two children.

Aliventures is where I help you master the art, craft and business of writing.

If you're new, welcome! These posts are good ones to start with:

Can You Call Yourself a “Writer” if You’re Not Currently Writing?  

The Three Stages of Editing (and Nine Handy Do-it-Yourself Tips)

What to Do When Your Writing Goals Seem a Long Way Off

My contemporary fantasy trilogy is available from Amazon. The books follow on from one another, so read  Lycopolis  first.

You can buy them all from Amazon, or read them FREE in Kindle Unlimited.

Good topic, Ali. I think you have to be true to your genre, your character, your audience and to yourself. Swearing is a fact of life in many worlds. Before writing, I came from one of cops and crooks. Believe me, swearing is part of that culture and many of the women cops & crooks are fowler than men. So, I believe if you’re going to tell a realistic fiction story you have to say it the way it is. Otherwise, you’ll likely loose your reader.

I’ll give you an example. A few years ago, a friend recommended a Harlan Coban novel. I got part way through and was immersed in a fairly good story… but there was something about it that didn’t ring true. Then it hit me. I came to a place in dialogue where a character had to use the F-word. Coban wrote in *in dialogue* as “F@#&”. It stopped me in my tracks and I put the book down. I don’t know if that author has some moral conviction about swearing and I don’t know how that got past a publisher/editor but it so unsuspended my disbelief that I never looked at another of his books.

I think swearing has little place in non-fiction as it really doesn’t contribute to the message. In fiction, especially in dialogue, I strongly feel that if that’s what a character would say in real life then you owe it to your audience to ring true. You probably sense I write crime and not Christian. 😉

Thanks Garry! I am totally with you on this — I can’t imagine that most cops (or criminals!) stick to, “Oh bother…” or “drat”. 😉

Gosh. I’d have put that Coban novel down too. I don’t think the thriller genre is a great choice for authors who are *that* squeamish about swearing!

I’m with you on number 1 and 4 being my preferred method. I rarely swear when writing fiction, but would if I thought the dialogue required it. If you are going to swear, I think moderation is key, I get very bored reading through whole paragraphs of bad words, and I don’t think you achieve the impact if swear words are spattered about all over the writing.

Yes — like any fairly stand-out word, less is more! I think swearing can also have a strong impact if it comes from a character who’s quite softly spoken — it can really highlight emotions running high.

I believe that swearing is appropriate in limited quantities and only in genres where in real life the speakers would be expected to do so. My current WIP has a male who is vulgar opposite a female that is not. I think the contrast, as well as limited usage, are what makes it work.

That said, I have never heard someone give a positive critique based on foul language. A teaspoon of cinnamon will enhance a recipe, a tablespoon in your mouth will put you in the emergency room.

Yes, I certainly don’t think it’s a good plan to include swearing in (say) a gentle romance or in genres where readers might have strong feelings about it (e.g. Christian fiction).

I like your analogy about cinnamon! And swearing for swearing’s sake always seems very adolescent to me. Like any writing tool, it needs to be used with care.

I watched a documentary about Tony Robbins called “I Am Not Your Guru.” It covered one of his Date With Destiny seminars. What surprised me most about the squeaky-clean Tony Robbins was the amount of cursing he did during the seminar — tons of F-bombs. He says he does this to interrupt people’s patterns and get them focused on what he’s trying to teach.

I don’t curse often, but when I’m trying to make a point, jolt the reader awake, and get them to notice something I really think is important I will curse.

That’s an interesting angle on it: I think swearing can certainly grab attention, and in fiction, the right word from the right character at the right moment can racket up the tension.

Been away from this blog as well as your newsletters for a couple weeks. Reading the old gold now.

But I skipped this post. Because I have never even once sworn (hope that’s the correct word) in my life. I’d do the same as the image in this post does – cover my ears/take my eyes off, if I hear/read such words.

See what Mahatma Gandhi had to say about words:

Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.

Without the least amount of doubt, this is true. I heard an experience of a man who was a professor in a college. He had to walk past an area where poor and uneducated people lived in huts, etc. There would be frequent clashes between people there, and children playing there also used to swear.

Now, this professor had never used swear words all his life. But, he had to listen to them almost every day on his way to college and back home. One day, he didn’t go to college and didn’t inform them. So, the head of the college/principal sent someone to his home to check what was the matter.

The professor lived alone in a small house. The guy entered his house, and saw that the professor was sleeping, and had high fever. But he also heard him uttering something every now and then. He went back and informed the college principal that the professor was ill.

When the professor went back to college, this guy who had been to his house, spoke to him and said that he was amazed that the professor swore in his sleep, which he never did when awake. The professor wondered why such a thing ever happened. Then he remembered that he used to listen to swear words almost daily, for years, on his way to college and back home. This had gone inside his sub-conscious mind, which opened in sleep.

Another thing – would someone like to pick garbage from the dust-bin and eat? No one would do that, right? So, why do people want to use garbage words which are not only useless, but also carry negative energy with them?

P.S.: Just my opinion, I think others will have different opinions that’s fine.

Get Your FREE Mini-Ebook

Want to fit more writing into your busy life?

My mini-ebook Time to Write has all the tips you need to get started. 

Pop your email address in below to join my newsletter list. You'll get Time to Write plus other free ebooks, as well as my weekly blog posts (Thursdays) and short newsletters (Mondays) to help you make the most of your writing time.

Note: I will never spam you or pass on your email address to anyone else. You can leave the newsletter list at any time.

Thanks for joining the newsletter! Check your inbox: you'll have a message with a button to click to confirm your email address.

The Ivy Coach Daily

• College Admissions
• College Essays
• Early Decision / Early Action
• Extracurricular Activities
• Standardized Testing
• The Rankings

April 7, 2011

College Essay Mistakes

There is a funny article in “The Daily Beast” by Kristina Dell that shares the anecdotes of college admissions counselors from this year’s record batch of applications. Many of the anecdotes revolve around silly or even comical things students do during the course of the college admissions process. The majority of these anecdotes are drawn from ridiculous mistakes college applicants make in their college essays. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Said Jim Miller, Dean of Admissions at Brown University, “There was a really strong candidate we didn’t admit because he used an enormous amount of profanity in his personal essay. He had a string of F-bombs that was pretty remarkable. I am not opposed to profanity and sometimes it can work. But, every third word doesn’t work. Otherwise, he would have gotten in.” If cursing didn’t take the cake, another Ivy League admissions counselor said this about an essay: “We had one great line. A young woman wrote that she took a summer course and she meant to say in ’organismic biology’ but she wrote ’orgasmic biology’ and went on to say it was the best course she’d ever taken. We didn’t reject her for that outright, but it makes you look twice.”

As we discuss so often with our students, it’s essential to select teachers who will write excellent letters of recommendation for you. It’s important to know how these teachers feel about you as a student and as a person. It’s also important to know that they are capable of writing great letters of recommendation — and that’s something a student’s guidance counselor will often know in advance from their past experiences with letters of recommendation from that teacher. Said an Ivy League admissions counselor, “Pick teachers who know you. Sometimes teachers will damn you with faint praise. One teacher wrote about a student: ’He is not just an athlete. There is so much less here than meets the eye.’ Another teacher wrote about a different student: ’Over time, he has developed a set of friends who have learned to tolerate and even accept him.’ Both of these students didn’t get in.”

And yet sometimes, students can write such powerful, moving essays that they inspire college admissions counselors to contact the applicants. For instance, Richard Nesbitt of Williams College describes one student’s essay: “One applicant talked about how she loves to bake bread. The person who was reading her essay happened to have focaccia bread baking in the oven at the time of reading the application. The reader was on the same wavelength and even emailed the student to say, ’I really liked your essay and here’s my recipe for focaccia bread.’ It’s a funny coincidence, but even the second reader who wasn’t a bread baker was similarly impressed by the application.” Timing sometimes matters!

But let’s get back to the mistakes! Aside from mistakes on the essays, college admissions counselors discuss in “The Daily Beast” how one student sent pies, claiming she wasn’t a good athlete but she was a good baker. The admissions counselors thought the pies were quite tasty but this did not lead to an acceptance. Another student sent a life-size blowup of herself attached to balloons. It was supposed to fly…but alas the balloons didn’t work. And yet another student staged a sit-in in an admissions office lobby, refusing to leave until she was able to speak to a few admissions people. Needless to say, this tactic proved as ineffective as the pies and the blow-up person attached to balloons.

Check out “The Daily Beast” article here .

And read about other grave mistakes like plagiarizing your college essay .

You are permitted to use www.ivycoach.com (including the content of the Blog) for your personal, non-commercial use only. You must not copy, download, print, or otherwise distribute the content on our site without the prior written consent of Ivy Coach, Inc.

Related Articles

What Are the Consequences of College Essay Plagiarism?

May 16, 2024

Using A.I. to Write College Admission Essays

October 13, 2023

Word and Character Limits in College Essays

September 27, 2023

What English Teachers Get Wrong About Writing College Essays

Bragging in College Essays: Is It Ever Okay?

September 26, 2023

What Not to Write: 3 College Essay Topics to Avoid

September 24, 2023

TOWARD THE CONQUEST OF ADMISSION

If you’re interested in Ivy Coach’s college counseling,
fill out our complimentary consultation form and we’ll be in touch.

Fill out our short form for a 20-minute consultation to learn about Ivy Coach’s services.

Calculate for all schools

Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, can i swear in my college essay.

Hey guys, I'm working on my college application essays and I was wondering if it's ever acceptable to use swear words in them? I have a personal story that might be more impactful with a bit of strong language, but I want to make sure it's appropriate. What do you all think?

Hey there! I understand that you want your essay to be as impactful as possible. While it's true that strong language can sometimes add emphasis to a story, it's generally best to avoid using swear words in your college essay. Admissions officers come from diverse backgrounds, and what might seem like a minor swear word to you could potentially offend someone else.

Instead, consider finding alternative ways to express your emotions or emphasize a particular point. You can use strong adjectives, metaphors, or other literary devices to get your message across without risking offense. The key is to be authentic and genuine in your writing while also being mindful of your audience.

Remember, your essay is an opportunity to showcase your personality and writing skills. By avoiding swear words, you can ensure that your essay is accessible and appealing to a wider range of readers. Good luck with your application process, and I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make your story impactful without the use of strong language!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

A style expert shares fresh Target finds to help you kick off summer — from $10

• Share this —

• Watch Full Episodes
• Read With Jenna
• Inspirational
• Relationships
• TODAY Table
• Newsletters
• Start TODAY
• Shop TODAY Awards
• Citi Concert Series
• Listen All Day

Follow today

More Brands

• On The Show
• TODAY Plaza

60 love quotes for him that will warm his heart

Love is notoriously difficult to describe.

To borrow a line from “Persuasion” by Jane Austen, “If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.”

If you struggle to find the words to express your love, you're far from alone. Many artists and writers have dedicated their entire careers to capturing that sentiment.

Luckily, that means you have a wealth of material to draw on for your next message to your husband , boyfriend, or beau.

From literature to song lyrics, you can find the perfect romantic quote that will make your sweetheart swoon.

Add a tender love song like Alicia Keys' “If I Ain’t Got You” to your shared playlist, or sing the lyrics live to your hubby. (He'll either love it, or laugh — either way you'll make his day.)

Impress your film buff boyfriend with famous love quotes from movies . Who doesn't adore the iconic line "When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible" from "When Harry Met Sally"?

Your beloved bookworm will cherish a sweet text from you with a quote from one of literature's greatest love stories.

Here are some of the best love quotes for him from books, movies , and music.

Best love quotes

• “In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is no love for you like mine.” — Maya Angelou
• “I hope it’s okay if I love you forever.” — Ally Maine, “A Star Is Born” 
• “Nobody has ever measured, even poets, how much a heart can hold.” — Zelda Fitzgerald
• “For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.” ― Judy Garland
• “Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.” — Zora Neale Hurston

• “If I had a flower for every time I thought of you...I could walk through my garden forever.” — Alfred Tennyson, “Queen Mary” 
• “If you remember me, then I don’t care if everyone else forgets.” ― Haruki Murakami, “Kafka on the Shore”
• “If you find someone you love in your life, then hang on to that love.” —   Princess Diana
• “Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition.” — Alexander Smith
• “This is the miracle that happens every time to those who really love: the more they give, the more they possess.” — Rainer Maria Rilke

• “Never mind. The self is the least of it. Let our scars fall in love.” — Galway Kinnell
• “To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.” — David Viscott
• “A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love.” — Max Müller
• “Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone — we find it with another.” — Thomas Merton
• “Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” — Robert A. Heinlein

Love quotes from movies

• “You are my greatest adventure.” — Mr. Incredible, “The Incredibles”
• “I like you very much, just as you are.” — Mark Darcy, “Bridget Jones’s Diary”
• “That moment, when you kiss someone and everything around becomes hazy and the only thing in focus is you and this person and you realize that that person is the only person that you’re supposed to kiss for the rest of your life.” — Josie Geller, “Never Been Kissed”
• “You had me at ‘hello.’” — Dorothy Boyd, “Jerry Maguire”
•  “What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down.” ― George Bailey, “It’s A Wonderful Life”

• “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” — Harry Burns, “When Harry Met Sally”
• “I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.” — Anna Scott, “Notting Hill” 
• “The heart is not like a box that gets filled up; it expands in size the more you love.” — Samantha, “Her” 
• “To me, you are perfect.” — Mark, “Love Actually”
• “I’m scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I’m with you.” — Baby Houseman, “Dirty Dancing”

Love quotes from books

• “I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.” — John Green, “The Fault in Our Stars”
• “I swear I couldn’t love you more than I do right now, and yet I know I will tomorrow.” — Leo Christopher, “Sleeping in Chairs”
• “In case you ever foolishly forget: I am never not thinking of you.” ― Virginia Woolf, “Selected Diaries”
• “You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.” ― Margaret Mitchell, “Gone with the Wind”
• “Love is not just looking at each other, it’s looking in the same direction.” ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, “Wind, Sand and Stars”

• “Who, being loved, is poor? Oh, no one. I hate my riches. They are a burden...” ― Oscar Wilde, “A Woman of No Importance”
• “I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I’ve led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough..” ― Nicholas Sparks, “The Notebook”
• “I wish you to know you have been the last dream of my soul.” — Charles Dickens, “A Tale of Two Cities”
• “You are my heart, my life, my one and only thought.” ― Arthur Conan Doyle, “The White Company”
• “My heart is, and always will be, yours.” ― Jane Austen, “Sense and Sensibility”

• “Every atom of your flesh is as dear to me as my own: in pain and sickness it would still be dear. Your mind is my treasure, and if it were broken, it would be my treasure still.” ― Charlotte Brontë, “Jane Eyre”
• “In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” — Jane Austen, “Pride and Prejudice”
• “To love or have loved, that is enough. Ask nothing further. There is no other pearl to be found in the dark folds of life.” ― Victor Hugo, “Les Misérables”
• “The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. And that’s what you’ve given me. That’s what I’d hoped to give you forever” ― Nicholas Sparks, “The Notebook”
• “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” — Emily Brontë, “Wuthering Heights” 

Love quotes from songs

• “Your love is better than ice cream.” — Sarah McLachlan, “Ice”
• “I will be the one to kiss you at night / I will love you until the end of time.” — Beyoncé, “End of Time”
• “Now, you’re lifting me up ’stead of holding me down / Stealing my heart ’stead of stealing my crown.” — Kacey Musgraves, “Butterflies” 
• “I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words how wonderful life is while you’re in the world.” — Elton John, "Your Song"
• “When you say you love me, know I love you more.” — Miley Cyrus, “Adore You” 

• “Whenever I’m alone with you, You make me feel like I am home again.” — The Cure, “Lovesong” 
• “Take me to your heart, for it’s there that I belong.” — Elvis Presley, “Love Me Tender” 
• “When you put your arms around me, you let me know there’s nothing in this world I can’t do.” — Keith Urban, “Somebody Like You”
• “You are the best thing, that’s ever been mine.” — Taylor Swift, “Mine” 
• “If you fall I will catch you, I’ll be waiting, time after time.” — Cyndi Lauper, “Time After Time” 

• “Some day, when I’m awfully low, when the world is cold, I will feel a glow just thinking of you and the way you look tonight.” — Frank Sinatra, “The Way You Look Tonight” 
• “I can’t fall in love without you.” — Zara Larsson, “I Can’t Fall In Love Without You”
• “But nothing’s greater than the rush that comes with your embrace / And in this world of loneliness, I see your face.” — Leona Lewis, “Bleeding Love” 
• “You’re still the one I run to, the one that I belong to. You’re still the one I want for life.” — Shania Twain, “You’re Still The One” 
• “It’s you, it’s you, it’s all for you, everything I do. I tell you all the time, Heaven is a place on Earth with you.” — Lana Del Rey, “Video Games” 

• “And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while…” — Bruno Mars, “Just The Way You Are” 
• “And I’d give up forever to touch you, ’cause I know that you feel me somehow. You’re the closest to heaven that I’ll ever be and I don’t wanna go home right now.” — Goo Goo Dolls, “Iris” 
• “Before the day I met you, life was so unkind. But you’re the key to my peace of mind.” — Aretha Franklin, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"
• “Some people want it all / But I don’t want nothin’ at all / If it ain’t you, baby / If I ain’t got you, baby.” — Alicia Keys, “If I Ain’t Got You”
• “At last, my love has come along / My lonely days are over / And life is like a song.”— Etta James, “At Last”

More ways to express your love

• 50 love quotes from movies that will have you at 'hello'
• 55 quotes about marriage that range from romantic to oh-so-honest
• 90 relationship quotes for every love story
• 101 best Valentine’s Day quotes to put your feelings into words

Sarah Fielding , MS, is an acclaimed journalist focusing on mental health, gender rights, and social issues. She's also the co-founder of  Empire Coven , a space for highlighting trailblazing women across New York. She has written for The Washington Post, The New York Times, Insider, Verywell, The Guardian and more. 

130 cute, silly and sweet nicknames for your boyfriend

Relationships.

50 sweet good morning texts to send to someone you love

Chip Gaines talks wife Joanna having a ‘high grace threshold’ for his sense of humor

Pop culture.

What is ‘boyfriend air’? How your relationship can impact your appearance

Who is Sofia Richie’s husband? Everything to know about Elliot Grainge

I’m living with the ghost of my husband’s first wife

Want to pop the question live on TODAY?

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck's relationship timeline

Know a deserving couple who needs help with wedding planning?

Bride, 88, finally gets to wear wedding dress, veil as she marries her first crush

Women's health.