exclamation mark
Surprise sentence ender
An exclamation mark is the punctuation symbol (!) used to indicate emphasis, strong emotion, or surprise: What a beautiful day!
It appears after interjections (Wow!), commands (Stop!), and exclamatory statements.
Overuse in formal writing suggests breathlessness or amateur enthusiasm.
Also called an exclamation point, especially in American English.
Punctuation ending sentences
- commaPunctuation marking pauses
- semicolonPunctuation joining related clauses
- colonLarge intestine section
- quotation marksPunctuation framing cited text
ellipsis · parentheses · brackets · hyphen · dash · apostrophe · ampersand · asterisk
Intense sudden wonder
- amazementOverwhelming surprise and wonder
- shockViolent sudden disturbance
- disbeliefRejection of truth claims
- wowCry of amazement
gasp · oh my · what · no way · incredible · unbelievable · stunned · unexpected
Exclamation of delight
- ouchPain interjection
- heyInformal greeting or summons
- bravoAcclaim for performers
- alasExpression of regret
oh no · yikes · eureka · hallelujah · hurrah · wow · aha · oops
Careful attention to risk
- alertWarning or watchfulness
- dangerExposure to harm
- stopCease all motion
- watch outWarning to be careful
beware · urgent · hazard · attention · critical · mandatory · prohibited · safety sign
Pressure, mental or vocal
- highlightMost notable part
- underscoreLow horizontal text mark
- accentuateTo give emphasis
- boldCourageous and daring
forceful · assertion · declaration · insistence · urgency · importance · dramatic · impactful
period
Punctuation ending sentences
- commaPunctuation marking pauses
- semicolonPunctuation joining related clauses
- colonLarge intestine section
quotation marks · ellipsis · parentheses · brackets · hyphen · dash · apostrophe · ampersand · asterisk · interrobang
astonishment
Intense sudden wonder
- amazementOverwhelming surprise and wonder
- shockViolent sudden disturbance
- disbeliefRejection of truth claims
wow · gasp · oh my · what · no way · incredible · unbelievable · stunned · unexpected · revelation
hooray
Exclamation of delight
alas · oh no · yikes · eureka · hallelujah · hurrah · wow · aha · oops · whoa
caution
Careful attention to risk
watch out · beware · urgent · hazard · attention · critical · mandatory · prohibited · safety sign · do not enter
stress
Pressure, mental or vocal
- highlightMost notable part
- underscoreLow horizontal text mark
- accentuateTo give emphasis
bold · forceful · assertion · declaration · insistence · urgency · importance · dramatic · impactful · attention
- cartoon visualsaction lines, speech bubble, thought bubble, pow, bam
- punctuationperiod, comma, colon, apostrophe, semicolon
- ASCII characterscomma, period, space, colon, semicolon
- Keyboard Charactersa, d, e, h, q
- Typographical Symbolscomma, period, colon, semicolon, hyphen
- code symbolsampersand, asterisk, at sign, backslash, backtick
mark, exclaim, proclaim, exclamation, proclaims, proclamation, exclaimed, exclaims, proclaimed