Are you good at choosing and putting proper words in English sentences? Without knowing the subtle difference between synonyms, you’d sound a bit awkward or weird with your choice of words. Let’s practice using synonymous words in a sentence by finding one word in each group that has a negative connotation.
In each of the following groups of similar words describing
people, choose the words that have somewhat negative connotation (as
many as you can find), the words that have positive connotation, and lastly,
the one that has a neutral meaning.
1.
childlike, youthful, childish, young
2.
disabled, crippled, handicapped, retarded
3.
relaxed, laid-back, lackadaisical, easygoing
4.
slim, skinny, slender, thin
5.
cheap, frugal, miserly, stingy, economical
6.
adolescent, immature, juvenile, innocent
7.
inquisitive, interested, curious, prying
8.
confident, secure, proud, egotistical
9.
lovely, knockout, beautiful, stunning
10.
talkative, conversational, chatty, jabbering
11.
fictional, fictitious, fictive
Answer Keys
1. negative
connotation: childish (to describe someone who behaves immaturely)
positive connotation:
childlike and youthful
neutral denotation: young
2. negative
connotation: crippled, handicapped, retarded (all three of these words have
offensive and negative connotation)
positive connotation:
neutral denotation: disabled
3. negative
connotation: lackadaisical (implying laziness)
positive connotation: easygoing
and laid-back
neutral denotation: relaxed
4. negative
connotation: skinny (describing somebody is too thin)
positive connotation: slim
and slender (used as a compliment)
neutral connotation: thin
5. negative
connotation: cheap, miserly, stingy (meaning not generous at all)
positive connotation: frugal
(meaning thrifty)
neutral denotation: economical
6. negative
connotation: immature
slightly negative to
neutral: juvenile
positive connotation : innocent
neutral denotation:
adolescent
7. negative
connotation: prying
positive connotation:
interested
neutral denotation:
inquisitive and curious
8. negative
connotation: egotistical (meaning ‘self-centered’)
positive connotation:
confident and proud
neutral denotation: secure
9. negative/
sexist connotation: knockout (this word can be used as a compliment, but it has
somewhat negative or sexist connotation
positive connotation: lovely, beautiful,
stunning
10.
negative connotation: jabbering (to
describe somebody who is annoying)
positive connotation: talkative
and chatty (to convey the feeling of “friendly” tone)
neutral denotation:
conversational
11.
negative connotation: fictitious (used
to convey the meaning of something or somebody made up to deceive others or
conceal oneself)
neutral denotation:
fictional and fictive
(*source from www.dictionary.com and https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-connotative-words.html)
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