Connotation and Denotation

 Denotation is the dictionary and literal definition of a word.

Definition

  Connotation is the emotional / contextual / cultural meaning attached to a word; shades and degrees of meaning.

Can be positive, neutral or negative.

Connotations

   Positive connotation: Being on the track team has made Alan slender and lean. (attractively thin) Neutral connotation: Being on the track team has made Alan thin. Negative connotation: Being on the track team has made Alan skinny and scrawny. (unattractively thin)

Examples

Home, House, Residence, Dwelling Denotation: All these words mean a place in which someone lives.

Connotations Home: House: Residence: Dwelling: cozy, loving, comfortable, security, images or feelings of people you associate with it the actual building or structure old, no feeling primitive or basic (picture a cave, etc.)

Let’s Practice

Lucy was surprised. Lucy was amazed. Lucy was astonished.

Which is more POSITIVE?

Read each pair and determine which is more positive….

Thrifty Pushy Politician Chef Slender penny-pinching aggressive statesman cook skinny

Handout

Car Names in the 60’s

      Thunderbird, Falcon, Charger, Comet, Mustang, Barracuda.

Car names in the 70’s

      Rabbit, Pinto, Colt, Civic, Starlet, Gremlin

Cockroaches!

  cock roach (kok' roch'), n. any of an order of nocturnal insects, usually brown with flattened oval bodies, some species of which are household pests inhabiting kitchens, areas around water pipes, etc. [Spanish cucaracha] What does the word cockroach mean to you?  Is a cockroach merely an insect or is it also a household nuisance and a disgusting creature?