Decision Making Word Search

A decision making puzzle of steps, consequences and group choices that prints with its answer key.

Name Date

Find every word hidden in the grid. Words go across and down.

0 of 15 words found

EIYZHDFLHNNYIIH

WALREHHHLTOTHPE

CRETBGHBODBHBRV

OXSMVNYMLETIFIO

MAPROSANDCONSOT

PCOMPROMISEKSRE

ADLOJUDGMENTOII

REFPGCTRRAHWETN

ECSTOSOREHRIBYF

LIRIAGWRFAWCTYL

ISSOLRCWLLCEYMU

UIQNCONSEQUENCE

DOUEADVICENOWVN

HNTWWVIATDEOUUC

GSEITTIRFACTSNE

This grid is wider and taller than its box. Slide it to see every letter.To drag, hold the first letter for a moment, then slide.Keyboard: Tab to the grid, arrow keys to move, Enter on the first and last letter.

FactsFACTS
OptionOPTION
CompareCOMPARE
ReflectREFLECT
Pros and consPROS AND CONS
PriorityPRIORITY
ConsequenceCONSEQUENCE
JudgmentJUDGMENT
Think twiceTHINK TWICE
InfluenceINFLUENCE
AdviceADVICE
VoteVOTE
CompromiseCOMPROMISE
DecisionDECISION
GoalGOAL

15 of 26 words from the Decision Making list.

Write about a choice you made this week. Which options did you weigh?

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Answer key: Decision Making Word Search

EIYZHDFLHNNYIIH

WALREHHHLTOTHPE

CRETBGHBODBHBRV

OXSMVNYMLETIFIO

MAPROSANDCONSOT

PCOMPROMISEKSRE

ADLOJUDGMENTOII

REFPGCTRRAHWETN

ECSTOSOREHRIBYF

LIRIAGWRFAWCTYL

ISSOLRCWLLCEYMU

UIQNCONSEQUENCE

DOUEADVICENOWVN

HNTWWVIATDEOUUC

GSEITTIRFACTSNE

FACTS, OPTION, COMPARE, REFLECT, PROS AND CONS, PRIORITY, CONSEQUENCE, JUDGMENT, THINK TWICE, INFLUENCE, ADVICE, VOTE, COMPROMISE, DECISION, GOAL

Next step Make a word search from your class's own choices Make a decision making word scramble

All 136 words

Steps of a Decision 17

Adjust To change something a little so it works better.
Brainstorm To list every idea you can before judging any of them.
Choose To pick one thing out of several.
Compare To set two things side by side to see how they differ.
Decide To settle on one answer and stop going back and forth.
Define To say exactly what the question is.
Evaluate To judge how well something worked.
Facts Things that are known to be true.
Gather To collect what you need to know before you pick.
Identify To find and name something.
Next step The one thing to do right after this one.
Option One of the things you could pick.
Reflect To think quietly and carefully about what happened.
Review To look back over something to see how it went.
Solution The answer that makes a problem go away.
Take action To do the thing you settled on.
Weigh To think hard about how the good and bad sides balance.

Show all 136 words (119 more)

Weighing It Up 20

Advantage Something that puts one choice ahead of another.
Balance To give each side its fair share of attention.
Benefit Something good that comes from a choice.
Cost What you have to give up to get the thing you picked.
Criteria The standards you judge your choices by.
Drawback A feature that makes a choice less appealing.
Evidence Facts that help show what is true.
Likely Expected to happen, though not for certain.
Long run A stretch of time reaching far ahead.
Needs Things you must have.
Odds How likely it is that a thing will or will not happen.
Priority The thing that matters most, so it comes first.
Pros and cons The points for and against, often written in two columns.
Rank To put things in order from best to worst.
Reward Something good you get for an effort.
Risk The chance that something could go wrong.
Trade off Giving up one good thing to get another.
Upside The good part of a situation.
Wants Things you would like but can live without.
Worth it Good enough to be a fair exchange for the effort or the price.

Consequences 17

Aftermath What is left to deal with once something is over.
Chain reaction A string of events, each one setting off the next.
Consequence What happens because of something you did.
Effect A change that something causes.
Harm Hurt or damage.
Lesson Something you learn from what happened.
Mistake Something done wrong that you can learn from.
Negative Bad or harmful.
Outcome How things turn out in the end.
Penalty A punishment for breaking a rule.
Positive Good or helpful.
Privilege A special right or favor that not everyone has.
Regret A sad wish that you had done something differently.
Reputation What other people think of you because of how you act.
Result What comes out of an action.
Ripple A small wave that spreads outward, the way one choice touches other people.
Unintended Not meant to happen.

Think It Through 21

Big picture The whole situation, not just one small part.
Breathe To take a slow lungful of air, a good first move when you feel rushed.
Caution Care taken ahead of time so that nothing goes wrong.
Clear head A calm mind that can think well.
Common sense Ordinary good thinking that most people share.
Consider To think about something carefully before you settle on it.
Deliberate Slow and careful; also, to think a matter over.
Foresight The ability to see what may be needed later.
Gut feeling A sense about something that you cannot fully explain.
Hasty Done too fast, without enough thought.
Hindsight Understanding of an event that comes only after it is over.
Instinct A feeling that tells you what to do without your working it out.
Judgment The ability to form a sensible opinion.
Logic Careful step-by-step reasoning.
Look ahead To picture what is coming.
Ponder To think about something slowly and deeply.
Question Something you ask to find out more.
Sleep on it A saying: to wait until morning before you make up your mind.
Slow down To take more time so you do not rush.
Think twice A saying: to consider something again before you do it.
Wisdom Good sense that comes from knowledge and experience.

What Pulls on a Choice 20

Advice An opinion someone gives you about what you should do.
Beliefs Ideas a person holds to be true.
Bias A leaning toward one side that keeps you from judging fairly.
Conscience The inner sense of what is right and what is wrong.
Curiosity The wish to know or try something new.
Dare A challenge to do something risky to prove you are brave.
Emotion A strong feeling such as joy, anger or fear.
Habit Something you do so often that you do it without thinking.
Influence The power to change what someone thinks or does.
Media Television, websites, video and print taken together.
Mentor A wise and trusted guide or teacher.
Mood The way you feel at a certain time.
Opinion What someone thinks or believes about something.
Peer pressure The push to do something because others your age are doing it.
Role model A person whose way of acting others try to copy.
Rules The dos and don'ts everyone is expected to follow.
Rumor A story passed around that may not be true.
Temptation A strong pull toward something you know you should not do.
Trend Something many people are doing or wearing right now.
Urge A sudden strong wish to do something.

Deciding Together 17

Ballot A slip of paper used to make a secret pick.
Coin toss Heads or tails, a quick way to settle a tie.
Compromise An agreement where each side gives up a little.
Consensus An agreement that everyone in a group can accept.
Debate A discussion where each side argues its case.
Draw straws To settle something by pulling sticks; the short one loses.
Majority More than half.
Negotiate To talk until both sides reach a deal.
Nominate To put a name forward for a job or a prize.
Poll A count of what a group of people think.
Proposal A plan put forward for others to consider.
Runoff A second round held between the top finishers to pick a winner.
Show of hands A quick count of raised arms.
Tiebreaker An extra round or question that settles an even score.
Unanimous Agreed to by everyone, with not one person against.
Veto To refuse to allow something a group has passed.
Vote To make your pick by marking a ballot or raising a hand.

Words for Choosing 24

Accept To say yes to something offered.
Alternative Another possibility you could go with.
Certain Sure, with no question at all.
Choice The act of picking between two or more things.
Commit To promise yourself to a course and stick with it.
Crossroads A point where you must pick which way to go.
Decision What you settle on after thinking it over.
Dilemma A hard pick between two paths, each with a problem of its own.
Dither To keep going back and forth without making up your mind.
Doubt A feeling of not being sure.
Free will The power to pick for yourself.
Goal Something you are trying to reach.
Hesitate To hold back for a moment because you are not sure.
Maybe Possibly, but not for sure.
On the fence A saying: not yet leaning to one side or the other.
Pick To take the one you want.
Preference A greater liking for one thing over another.
Refuse To say no to something.
Select To pick out with care.
Settle To end a question for good.
Stand firm To refuse to change your mind when others push.
Toss up A saying: a pick so even that either answer would do.
Verdict The final answer a jury or a judge gives.
Waver To swing between two answers.

How this list was compiled: Own work: the word list and every clue were written for this page. Word meanings were checked on 9 October 2026 against each word's entry in Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dilemma and the entries for the other words). Word origins follow the Wiktionary etymologies of decide, dilemma, veto, ballot and unanimous. Facts were checked the same day against these English Wikipedia articles: Decision-making (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision-making), Dilemma, Veto and Ballot. Licence: own work

How it works

Choice, Consequence, Option, Goal, Weigh, Risk and Reflect are on the list this decision making word search opens on. Seven more lists follow a choice from the first question to the look back, and every word has a clue.

Read the full guide

Seven lists, in the order of a choice

Steps of a Decision runs from Define to Evaluate. Weighing It Up has Pros and cons, Trade off and Drawback. Consequences has Outcome, Ripple and Regret. Think It Through has Foresight, Hindsight and Sleep on it. What Pulls on a Choice has Peer pressure, Habit and Conscience, Deciding Together has Consensus, Veto and Tiebreaker, and Words for Choosing has Dilemma, Waver and On the fence.

Where four of the words come from

Decide is from a Latin verb meaning to cut off. Dilemma joins the Greek for two and for premise. Veto is Latin for I forbid, and a ballot was at first a small ball that recorded a vote in Italy.

Foresight and Hindsight make a pair to teach together: one looks ahead, the other looks back.

Questions and answers

Is the decision making word search free to print?

Yes. Press Print or save as PDF and two pages come out on Letter or A4: the puzzle with a name and date line and a short writing task, then the answer key. There is nothing to sign up for.

What words are in the decision making word search?

136 words and phrases, from Goal and Risk to Consequence and Chain reaction. It is written for health, guidance and advisory lessons.

Which list has the steps of making a decision?

Steps of a Decision, with 17 entries, among them Define, Gather, Brainstorm, Compare, Weigh, Choose, Take action and Evaluate. Lessons name and number the steps in different ways, so the list keeps to plain words.

Is there an easier list for younger students?

Short and Easy has 12 words of 3 to 5 letters, Goal, Risk, Vote, Pick, Maybe and Doubt among them.

All 136 words

Steps of a Decision 17

Weighing It Up 20

Consequences 17

Think It Through 21

What Pulls on a Choice 20

Deciding Together 17

Words for Choosing 24

How it works

Seven lists, in the order of a choice

Where four of the words come from

Questions and answers

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