1. Denotation and Connotation

2. Would you rather something was cheap or inexpensive?
Would you rather have the job title of chef or cook?
Would you rather be described as stubborn or determined?
Rank the following words in each group from positive to negative:
thin, lanky, skinny, gaunt, slender
aggressive, assertive, ambitious, obnoxious, pushy,
intelligent, shrewd, clever, brainy, wise
unique, odd, weird, exceptional, unusual

3. Denotation and Connotation
The denotation of a word is the literal meaning, the "dictionary definition."¨
The connotation of a word refers to the feelings and associations created by the word. Words can have positive, negative, or neutral connotation.
Example: positive = slender neutral = thin negative = skinny
Think of three words that have the same denotative meaning as the word “old” but that can be identified as
Positive __________________
Neutral __________________
Negative __________________

4. Denotation and Connotation
The denotation of a word is the literal meaning, the "dictionary definition."¨
For example, if you look up the word snake in a dictionary, you will discover that one of its denotative meanings is "any of numerous scaly, legless, sometimes venomous reptiles having a long, tapering, cylindrical body and found in most tropical and temperate regions."
The connotation of a word refers to the feelings and associations created by the word.
Connotations for the word snake could include evil or dangerous.

5. The Author’s use of connotation (word choice) connects to the tone.
Imagine that you received the following text message from one of your parents:
“Just wait until you get home”
Is this an encouraging or menacing text message? What would you do to try to determine your parent’s tone? What words would you focus on?