Connotation, Denotation & Word Relationships

• Word relationships can alter the qualities and meanings of those words, similar to how people's interactions bring out different qualities in each other.
• Connotation, denotation, synonyms, and analogies help to understand the relationships between particular words.

Connotation and Denotation

• Connotation is the emotional association or secondary meaning of a word, carrying positive or negative associations.
• A possible connotation of 'home' is 'a place of warmth and comfort,' which has a positive association.
• Denotation is the direct meaning of a word and can be found in the dictionary.
• The denotation of 'home' is 'a residence or dwelling,' with no positive or negative emotions tied to it.
• The way 'home' is used in a phrase/sentence points to its connotation or denotation, so recognizing word relationships is key to understanding its intended meaning.
• Connotation represents social/cultural implications or emotional meanings.
• 'Hollywood' connotes glamour, fame, and fortune
• 'Hollywood' denotes an area of Los Angeles, known as the center of the American film industry.
• 'I hate how much traffic there is in Hollywood.' The use of Hollywood's denotation or direct definition is emphasized through the relationship between the words 'hate,' 'traffic,' and 'Hollywood'
• 'She was enchanted by the bright lights and big dreams of Hollywood.' The relationship between the words 'enchanted,' 'lights,' and 'dreams' all point to Hollywood's glitzy connotation.

Connotations of Synonyms

• Synonyms are words that have the same or very similar meanings.
• 'Thin' and 'skinny' have a similar definition when referring to a person's body.
• 'Thin' tends to have a positive connotation, suggesting someone is lean or fit.
• 'Skinny' isn't always a compliment and can suggest someone is too thin.

Analogy

• Analogy is a comparison of two things that are similar in some way.
• An analogy requires identification of similar relationships between dissimilar objects.
• Word analogies: 'Under is to over as fast is to slow.'
• 'Under' and 'over' are related because they are opposites, just like 'fast' and 'slow.'
• Word analogies can be written as: 'Under : Over :: Fast : Slow'
• The colon means 'is to' and the double colon means 'as.'

Types of Analogies

• Synonym analogies contain words that are similar in meaning.
• 'Humid is to muggy as find is to locate.'
• The words 'humid' and 'muggy' are synonyms, while the words 'find' and locate' are also synonyms.
• 'Death : Sadness :: Rain : Flood' relationship between these two pairs is cause and effect.
• 'Chapter is to book as finger is to hand' shows a part-whole relationship.
• 'Tango : Dance :: Bear : Mammal' We call this type of analogy a classification analogy.
• Characteristic analogies show a relationship between a pair by highlighting a characteristic or trait that a specific person, place, or thing has.
• 'Kittens : furry :: knives : sharp' kittens are described as furry, and knives are described as sharp.