Connotative Power of Words

Connotation
Definition: The emotional implications and associations that a word

may carry, in contrast to its denotative meanings. Verb: connote.
Adjective: connotative.
Denotation
Definition: The direct or dictionary meaning of a word, in contrast to its figurative or
associated meanings (connotations). Adjective: denotative.
Connotative Conjugations: "I Educate; You

Indoctrinate; They Brainwash"
On a BBC radio program in 1948, philosopher Bertrand

Russell playfully conjugated an "irregular verb" as "I am
firm; you are obstinate; he is a pig-headed fool."
Russell's point was to show how words convey attitudes and

feelings (that is, connotations) as well as literal meanings
(denotations). When readers of the New Statesman
magazine were invited to submit their own "emotional
conjugations," they responded with enthusiasm (or,
depending on your perspective, with gusto or idiotic fervor). Here are some of the published
entries:
 I am righteously indignant; you are annoyed; he is making a fuss about nothing.
 I am a creative writer; you have a journalistic flair; he is a prosperous hack.
 I have reconsidered it; you have changed your mind; he has gone back on his word.
 I am sparkling; you are unusually talkative; he is drunk.
 I am beautiful; you have quite good features; she isn't bad-looking, if you like that
type.
 I daydream; you are an escapist; he ought to see a psychiatrist.
 I have about me something of the subtle, haunting, mysterious fragrance of the

Orient; you rather overdo it, dear; she stinks.
Now that I've succinctly explained the concept (which you might elaborate upon and others
surely would belabor), why not submit some connotative conjugations of your own? Simply
click on the comments link below.
Blackboard: Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms (Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1984)

The Connotative Power of Words
"A writer needs an 'ear' as much as a musician does," wrote Sydney J. Harris. "And without
this ear, he is lost and groping in a forest of words, where all the trees look much alike."
Harris himself had an ear for words. From the 1940s to the 1980s, his column "Strictly
Personal" ran five days a week in hundreds of American newspapers. Harris's short essays
were playfully erudite and--in his "antics with semantics"--often concerned with the
connotative power of words.
Unfortunately, he said, "most persons--and this includes aspiring writers--simply fail to

recognize that there are very few true synonyms in the language, no matter what the
dictionary may insist."
A dictionary can tell us only what a word points to, not "what it feels like":
Distinguishing between two words that seem to mean the same, but have different colors
and shapes and suggestions--this is essential to the art of writing, and also of speaking. . . .
Unspeakable in the dictionary means the same as unutterable--but the former is always used
to mean something base or vile, while the latter usually means some rapturous or divine
thought or emotion.
The right word is as important to the writer as the right note to the composer or the right
line to the painter.
(Sydney J. Harris, "You Need an Ear for Words to Write." Last Things First. Houghton Mifflin,
1961)
A few times a year, Harris would illustrate this point by drawing some important distinctions
between related words. Here are several examples from The Best of Sydney J. Harris
(Houghton Mifflin, 1975).
 The striking colors in our living room are "dramatic"; the striking colors in yours are
"flamboyant."
 My inability to warm up to strangers is caused by "shyness," but yours is caused by

"stand-offishness."
 I take you to a restaurant that is "charmingly unpretentious," but you take me to a

restaurant that is a "dive."
 Jane marries John because of his "boyish charm"--and divorces him because of his
"immaturity."
 I am "strong-minded," but you are "opinionated."
 I am opposed to your newfangled ideas because I believe in "the value of tradition,"

but you are opposed to my sensible reforms because you are "blindly clinging to the
past."
 My attorney "knows all the ins and outs," but my opponent's attorney is a "slippery
character."
 The difference between "vandalism" and a "harmless prank" depends upon whose
child has committed it.
 As a junior executive, I am "on the alert for opportunities within the organization,"
but as a junior executive, you are "on the make."
 If it was your fault, we had a "collision," but if it was my fault, we just "bumped
fenders."
 Their nation has a "network of spies," but our nation takes "security measures."
 They try to change Our minds by "propaganda," but We try to change Their minds by
"information."
 When you attack us, it is an "act of war," but when we attack you, it is "a necessary
preventive move to maintain our independence and to preserve the peace."
 When my candidate makes slashing charges against the opposition, he is

"forthright," but when your candidate does the same, he is "irresponsible."
 When my candidate reverses his mind after election, it proves he is "open minded";
when yours does the same thing, it shows him up as "a man of no principle."

Connotative Power of Words

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Connotation

Definition: The emotional implications and associations that a word

Connotative Conjugations: "I Educate; You

On a BBC radio program in 1948, philosopher Bertrand

Russell's point was to show how words convey attitudes and

 I am righteously indignant; you are annoyed; he is making a fuss about nothing.

 I am a creative writer; you have a journalistic flair; he is a prosperous hack.

 I am sparkling; you are unusually talkative; he is drunk.

 I daydream; you are an escapist; he ought to see a psychiatrist.

 I have about me something of the subtle, haunting, mysterious fragrance of the

Blackboard: Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms (Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1984)

Unfortunately, he said, "most persons--and this includes aspiring writers--simply fail to

 My inability to warm up to strangers is caused by "shyness," but yours is caused by

 I take you to a restaurant that is "charmingly unpretentious," but you take me to a

 I am "strong-minded," but you are "opinionated."

 I am opposed to your newfangled ideas because I believe in "the value of tradition,"

 When my candidate makes slashing charges against the opposition, he is

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