Shades of meaning

In color we can go from dark to light and give value by shading. Red can be intense or pale.

Words can do the same.

Do you have a favorite word?  One that brings a smile to your face?  A word you love to use whenever you get the opportunity? 

I confess that I don’t use my favorite word very often, but I think about it when I use other words especially descriptive words.  My word can be deep or shallow. It can be dark or bright. My word makes me think like an artist and about all the colors in the rainbow. It’s loud or quiet, soft or hard and any nuance in between. My word is connotation.

Here are some samples from Google:

Examples of Connotation

• Stench, smell, aroma, scent, odor.

• Strong, tough, sturdy, hard.

• Proud, confident, arrogant, egotistical.

• Childish, childlike, young, youthful.

• Rich, loaded, privileged, wealthy, affluent.

• Broke, poor, impoverished.

• Frugal, economical, stingy, cheap.

• Tempting, attractive, interesting.

Understanding the best word to use especially in written communication such as email is immperitave. Just look at the difference here and see how the wrong word can evoke a bad feeling.

Positive	Neutral	Negative
childlike	youthful	childish, juvenile
slender	thin	emaciated
extraordinary	unusual	strange
dignified, composed	reserved, quiet	aloof, unapproachable