Which term describes the negative or positive association of a word?

• A. Denotation
• B. Connotation
• C. Antonym
• D. Synonym

Answer: (B)

Connotation is the emotional or associative meaning a word carries beyond its dictionary definition. While denotation describes the exact, literal meaning of a word, connotation captures the feelings, ideas, or attitudes it evokes. That’s why words can share the same denotation but feel different in tone—one might come across as warm or positive, another as harsh or negative, depending on the context. For example, describing a person as “slim” versus “skinny” can shift how we feel about them, even though both can mean similar things about body size; the first often has a neutral to positive connotation, while the second can feel more negative. Antonyms and synonyms relate to relationships between words (opposites or words with similar meanings) rather than the emotional color a word carries, so they don’t describe association in the same way.