Word Choice, Connotation, and Denotation

Read the following sentence:

The baby was very clever. It already knew how to crawl into a room without making a sound.

How would the meaning of the sentence change if the author used "cunning" instead of the word "clever"?

• The baby would seem sneakier

• The baby would seem cuter

• The baby would seem stupider

• The baby would seem louder

Read the following passage:

"He's very influential in the clowning community," she whispered to her friend, pointing to the tall man in loose pants and rainbow suspenders striding across the room. "He's a great artist. Balloon animals have never been the same."

How does the author intend the word "influential" to be taken in this passage?

• positive

• negative

• neutral

• extremely negative

Read the following sentence:

The hedgehog was ecstatic-- She had found a hole to burrow into, and she was happily settled beneath the ground, excited to sleep the day away.

Based on the context clues, what is the denotation of the word "ecstatic" in the passage?

• overly intelligent

• greatly impressed

• extremely happy

• often late

Read the following passage:

After winning the spelling bee, Bridget became confident. "I can spell any word in the universe," she insisted loudly, even in places where it was not required to spell things. Like at the movies with her friends.

Her best friend, annoyed, said, "I bet you can't spell a word in German." Bridget did not speak German.

"I probably can," she insisted,"I mean, how hard can it be, right?"

How does the author intend the word "confident" to be taken in this passage?

• positive

• negative

• neutral

• extremely positive

Read the following sentence:

The man stretched slowly, then continued his sluggish walk down the street.

How would the meaning of the sentence change if the author used the word "unhurried" instead of the word "sluggish"?

• The man would seem less lazy

• the man would seem funnier

• the man wold seem more talented

• the man would seem animal-like

Read the following passage:

My grandmother is thrifty. She never throws out old clothes and saves all her jars to reuse as glasses.

How would the meaning of the sentence change if the author used "cheap" instead of the word "thrifty"?

• The writer would seem unafraid

• the grandmother would seem unknown

• the writer would seem uncertain

• the grandmother would seem ungenerous

Read the following passage:

"How could you do this?" the painter screeched. "How could you paint that wall blue? It should clearly be orange!"

How would the meaning of the sentence change if the author used the word "whimpered" instead of the word "screeched"?

• The painter would seem more pathetic

• The painter would seem more powerful

• The painter would seem more joyful

• The painter would seem more intelligent

Read the following sentence:

A flock of flamingos slowly picked their way across the lawn towards the Gupta family where they stood waiting.

How would the meaning of the sentence change is the author used the word "mob" instead of the word "flock"?

• The flamingos would seem friendlier

• The flamingos would seem more elegant

• The flamingos would seem more indifferent

• The flamingos would seem more threatening

Words that have the same denotation are called ________.

• acronyms

• homonyms

• antonyms

• synonyms

When you look up a word in the dictionary, you find its ___________.

• connotation

• acronym

• denotation

• homonym