That means that someone who chooses this adjective is being critical in a way that they would not be if they chose the word modern, which has a similar meaning but a much more positive connotation. For instance, the word newfangled has a disapproving label in the dictionary on this site. A good learner’s dictionary can help by providing labels such as approving or disapproving. To give a rather obvious example, most people would probably be happy to be described as slim, slender or svelte (which all describe an attractive appearance), less happy with thin or skinny (which are more neutral or could even imply unattractiveness), offended by lanky or scrawny (negative descriptions), and upset by haggard, gaunt, or emaciated (which have connotations of ill health).Ĭonnotation makes language rich and subtle, but it can be very difficult to master in another language. the way the words we choose can reflect our own views on the subject we are talking about. The one I’m going to look at in this post is that of connotation, i.e. That’s quite an extreme view, but it’s certainly true that words that look like synonyms often have subtle differences of usage. It has been said that there is no such thing as a synonym in English.
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