©2012AlwaysLearning
Name: ___________________________ #______
DENOTATION
and
CONNOTATION
Denotation is the direct and explicit meaning of a word or set of words; it is the “dictionary
definition. (D for dictionary!)
Connotation is the meaning of the word based on a shared emotional association; an idea
or a feeling that a word evokes above its literal meaning.
Meanings of the same word can be positive, negative, or neutral.
Work with your group to sort these words into the appropriate category (Positive,
Negative, Neutral) on the chart paper provided. All the words are in a set of two or
three (e.g. quiet, calm, meek). Use a dictionary if you're unsure of a word’s literal
meaning:
dog
fat
weird
pushy
riot
starving
overweight
assertive
thrifty
request
thin
steed
eerie
stubborn
cook
nag
strange
Lady
Mutt
hungry
chef
ask
cheap
slender
unique
skinny
house
demand
determined
economical
horse
woman
protest
shack
home
rally
©2012AlwaysLearning
Possible Answer Key (depends upon your perspective!):
Neutral
Positive
Negative
horse
steed
nag
dog
mutt
economical
thrifty
cheap
thin
slender
skinny
cook
chef
protest
rally
hungry
riot
starving
assertive
determined
pushy; stubborn
house
home
shack
ask
request
demand
strange
unique; eerie
weird; eerie
woman
lady
lady
overweight
fat
©2012AlwaysLearning
Thank you for downloading this free
resource! I hope that you find it to
be useful in your classroom. For many
other Common Core-aligned math
and reading products, please visit
my shop and take a look at:
Close Reads Task Cards Math Bundles
Minilessons
Writing Lessons
Happy Teaching!
AlwaysLearning
©2012AlwaysLearning