English 10 / Unit 11: Vocabulary: Roots, Context and Connotation
11.4 Connotation and Nuance
Notes
Words with similar denotations can differ in connotation (emotional association) and nuance (fine shades of meaning).
- Positive, neutral, negative: confident / self-assured / arrogant; curious / inquisitive / nosy.
- Words differ in intensity: dislike, detest, loathe; walk, stride, march.
- Writers choose words to shape tone; readers analyze those choices.
- Example: calling a protest a "gathering," a "demonstration" or a "mob" gives three very different impressions.
Practice
Which word gives "a person who resists change" the most negative connotation?
"Stubborn" suggests unreasonable resistance.
Arrange these from least to most intense: annoyed, furious, irritated.
Annoyed is mildest; irritated is stronger; furious is strongest.
A news report calls a group of protesters a "mob." Compared with "crowd," the word "mob" suggests:
"Mob" carries a negative connotation of violence and disorder.
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