1. Word Connotation and Denotation
Improving Vocabulary
Word Connotation and Denotation
RPDP Secondary Literacy

2. Students will differentiate between word connotation
Today's Objective
Students will differentiate between word connotation
and denotation.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

3. Usage & Connotation
Usage and connotation
give words special
meanings.
Even though synonyms are said to be words with the same meaning, very few words have exactly
the same meaning.
Connotation is
RPDP Secondary Literacy

4. This is called denotation.
Word Denotation & Connotation
All words convey a literal meaning, the specific meaning found in a dictionary.
This is called denotation.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

5. Many words, however, stir up emotions or suggest associations.
Word Denotation & Connotation
Many words, however, stir up emotions or suggest associations.
This is called connotation.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

6. Word Denotation & Connotation
Take the word shark, a marine carnivorous fish with large teeth. What do we associate with the word shark? DANGER!
Can you think of a single person who doesn’t feel some fear at the very mention of this word?
RPDP Secondary Literacy

7. Writers have always been sensitive to the emotional power of words.
The Power of Words
Writers have always been sensitive to the emotional power of words.
Writers who wish to create a more emotional response in their readers will choose words with a stronger connotation.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

8. The boy seemed very youthful. The boy seemed very immature.
The Power of Words
The choice of words often reveals a writer’s attitude toward a subject.
Example:
The boy seemed very youthful.
The boy seemed very immature.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

9. Immature suggests that the boy is childish and juvenile.
The Power of Words
Immature suggests that the boy is childish and juvenile.
Using that word makes it clear that the writer’s attitude is negative.
Youthful just suggests he is young.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

10. Let’s take a look at the words: trip and vacation.
Word Denotation & Connotation
Let’s take a look at the words: trip and vacation.
Both words have similar denotations, but vacation has an extra level of meaning.
It makes us feel a sense of freedom, relaxation, and fun.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

11. Word Denotation & Connotation
Understanding connotations is important because some words have similar denotations but opposite connotations.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

12. The city was bustling with people during the holiday.
Positive Connotation:
The city was bustling with people during the holiday.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

13. The city was mobbed with people during the holiday.
Negative Connotation:
The city was mobbed with people during the holiday.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

14. In these examples, the words bustling and mobbed both mean “filled.”
Connotation
In these examples, the words bustling and mobbed both mean “filled.”
However, bustling suggests a positive feeling of energy and excitement, while mobbed suggests a feeling of overcrowding and restricted movement.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

15. Which words have a more positive connotation?
Every October the old maple (paints, litters) the lawn with its falling leaves.
The girl ran (courageously, recklessly) into the flaming barn to save her colt.
We walked at a (leisurely, sluggish) pace.
Can you see what a difference in connotation (or emotion) each of the word choices above makes?
In all three sentences, the first choice is the more positive choice. The second choice in all three is negative – litters, recklessly, and sluggish.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

16. Every October the old maple paints the lawn with its falling leaves.
Positive Connotation
Every October the old maple paints the lawn with its falling leaves.
The girl ran courageously into the flaming barn to save her colt.
We walked at a leisurely pace.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

17. The man and woman were retired and living on a fixed income, which
Practice Question
The man and woman were retired
and living on a fixed income, which
forced them to be very -
generous.
cheap.
careless.
thrifty.
How did you do?
RPDP Secondary Literacy

18. Cheap and thrifty have close to the same dictionary meaning.
Connotation
Cheap and thrifty have close to the same dictionary meaning.
However, the connotation of the word cheap is so different.
It’s almost like a criticism, while
thrifty seems more like a natural
description of a way someone is
forced to live and implies a wise
or careful use of what’s available.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

19. Let’s say you want to describe someone.
Word Denotation & Connotation
Let’s say you want to describe someone.
The first word that comes to your mind is loud.
Now, you have to decide if loud is the best word to use in this situation.
Perhaps a synonym fits better.
Loud can describe many things, from sounds to people to colors.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

20. From Roget’s II, The New Thesaurus
loud adjective
marked by extremely high volume: earsplitting, deafening, roaring
tastelessly showy: chintzy, flashy, gaudy, tacky, garish
offensive in manner: unpleasant, aggressive, distasteful
A great place to find synonyms is your thesaurus. If you don’t have one, invest in a pocket edition. It can save you a great deal of time with your writing assignments.
The entry above lists 3 meanings. You can scan the meanings until you find the one you want. In this case, it’s probably the first one, although judging by this picture, any one of the 3 might fit this character.
What you’ve just done is consider the connotation and denotation of a word and use a thesaurus to select the best synonym.
You can use a thesaurus.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

21. There are over 3,000 vagrants in this city. Neutral
Word Connotation
Negative
There are over 3, vagrants in this city.
Neutral
There are over 3,000 people with no fixed address in this city.
Positive
There are over 3,000 homeless in this city.
All three of these expressions refer to exactly the same people, but they will invoke different associations in the reader's mind: a "vagrant" is a public nuisance while a "homeless" may have fallen into hard times. Someone writing an editorial in support of a new shelter might use the positive form, while someone writing an editorial in support of anti-loitering laws would use the negative form.
In this case, the legal expression "with no fixed address" quite deliberately avoids most of the positive or negative associations of the other two terms -- a legal specialist will try to avoid connotative language altogether when writing new laws and used a term like this which is free of strong emotional associations.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

22. refer to the same people, but they trigger different
Word Connotation
All three expressions
refer to the same people,
but they trigger different
associations in a reader's
mind:
A vagrant is often seen
as a public nuisance,
while a homeless may
have fallen into hard
times.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

23. Word Connotation
Someone writing an editorial in support of a new shelter might use the positive form.
Yet someone writing an editorial in support of anti-loitering laws would use the negative form.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

24. Can you tell which words evoke positive feelings?
The connotation of some words - or the attitudes we associate with them - can be seen in these pairs of words that are similar in meaning, but different in the positive or negative attitudes they evoke in most people.
refreshing – chilly
plain – natural
clever – sly
snob – cultured
cop – officer
skinny – slender
Can you tell which words evoke negative or positive feelings?
Connotation
Can you tell which words evoke positive feelings?
RPDP Secondary Literacy

25. Positive Connotation: Negative Connotation:
The child held tightly to his mother.
Negative Connotation:
The kid hung onto his mother.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

26. The words child and held tightly sound more sensitive and compassionate than kid and hung onto.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

27. Positive Connotation: Negative Connotation:
The doctor gave the child an injection.
Negative Connotation:
The doctor gave the child a shot.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

28. Choose the word below that suggests a more positive connotation.
Practice Question
Choose the word below that suggests
a more positive connotation.
The portions at the restaurant were -
sufficient
adequate
ANSWER = A
How did you do?
RPDP Secondary Literacy

29. While the word adequate implies barely enough.
Both of these words mean enough.
However –
Sufficient suggests
exactly what is needed.
While the word adequate
implies barely enough.
Can you see the difference?
RPDP Secondary Literacy

30. “A house is not always a home.”
If you look up the words house and home in a dictionary, you’d find that both words have almost the same meaning "a dwelling place."
However, the expression above suggests that home has an additional meaning.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

31. “A house is not always a home.”
The feelings, images, and memories
that surround a word make up its
connotation.
Why do you think that
real estate advertisers
use the word home more
frequently than house?
RPDP Secondary Literacy

32. The glass has shattered. The glass has cracked.
Both words mean “broken,” but have
different connotations. Cracked is less
severe than shattered. Shattered implies
being broken violently into many pieces
and beyond repair. Cracked implies it’s
not completely destroyed.
Connotation
RPDP Secondary Literacy

33. Hector was a _____________ teenager
Practice Question
Hector was a _____________ teenager
whose arms and legs seemed to get in
his own way.
Which of the following words has a less
flattering or more negative connotation?
tall
gangling
RPDP Secondary Literacy

34. Practice Question greater than ordinary height.
The word gangling implies
that someone is very tall
and usually awkward.
Tall just implies having
greater than ordinary
height.
How did you do?
RPDP Secondary Literacy

35. There is nothing wrong with the old hotels in Las Vegas. However, many
Practice Question
There is nothing wrong with the old
hotels in Las Vegas. However, many
hotels are antiquated and should be
replaced.
Which of the following words has
a more positive connotation?
A. old
B. antiquated
RPDP Secondary Literacy

36. Old merely suggests they’ve been around for a long time.
Practice Question
The word antiquated suggests the hotels are old-fashioned and out of date.
Old merely suggests they’ve been around for a long time.
Las Vegas
How did you do?
RPDP Secondary Literacy

37. The audience ___________ when the master of ceremonies introduced the
Practice Question
The audience ___________ when the
master of ceremonies introduced the
singer by the wrong name.
Which of the following words has a less
flattering or more negative connotation?
snickered
chuckled
RPDP Secondary Literacy

38. The word snicker suggests laughing at someone in a
Practice Question
The word snicker suggests
laughing at someone in a
smirking, unkind way.
Chuckle suggests a more
good natured type of
laughter with someone.
How did you do?
RPDP Secondary Literacy

39. My neighbor is always ________ dressed when she goes out.
Practice Question
My neighbor is always ________
dressed when she goes out.
Which of the following words has
a more flattering connotation?
nicely
impeccably
How did you do?
RPDP Secondary Literacy

40. suggests flawless, elegant, and close to perfect.
Practice Question
The word impeccable
suggests flawless, elegant,
and close to perfect.
While the word nice is also
a compliment, it suggests
neat, presentable, and
suitable and is not quite
as strong.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

41. Connotation is the emotional association surrounding a word.
Let's Review -
Connotation is the emotional association surrounding a word.
Denotation is the strict dictionary meaning of a word.
RPDP Secondary Literacy

42. Copyright © 2006 by Jill M. Leone
Copyright Notice
Permission is granted to copy (unmodified) all or part of this PowerPoint for educational, personal, non-commercial use off-line as long as the copyright message (Copyright © 2006 by Jill Leone) is maintained on the title page. This material may not
be sold, duplicated on other websites, incorporated in commercial documents or products, or used for promotional purposes.
Copyright © 2006 by Jill M. Leone
RPDP Secondary Literacy