5 English Verbs To Describe Reading

1.GLANCE

You may not have a lot of time so you look at or read something quickly.

Example: I glanced at the headlines in the newspaper to see what was happening.

2. FLICK THROUGH

If you are waiting for someone to arrive or sitting in a waiting room before an appointment you might flick through a book or magazine to pass the time. It is a quick look without really spending too long on any page or article.

Example: Sarah flicked through the magazine out of curiosity and ended up buying it.

3. LOOK or LOOK THROUGH

You might be asked to read something in detail by your boss and check it for content, errors etc. You will look through it or look over it in some detail.

Example:  I looked over your article and it seems to be very informative.

4. SCAN

Scan has a more modern use now relating to documents that you want to send electronically. You scan them (with a scanner) and send them via email to your contact. However, you can use your eyes to scan a document quickly.

Example: Matt’s new teacher scanned quickly through his previous assignments.

5.  STUDY

All students will be familiar with this word. When we are reading books or documents for the purposes of our school work or university work then we read in a different way so we study that document in detail to extract (take) as much information as possible.

Example: I have studied the documents carefully and would like to ask you to do the same.

6. PORE OVER

To read something very carefully, to examine something.

7. BROWSE

To read something quickly to see if it’s interesting.

8. DEVOUR

To read something quickly and eagerly.