GRE General

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Reading Comprehension - How to Infer Intended Meaning Get The Gist of an Essay Improve And Reading Comprehension Reading Comprehension - How to Answer Questions About Literature Reading Comprehension - Reading Strategies Using Visualization What Are Connotation And Denotation?Understanding Tone And Mood in a Reading Passage Structure in Writing And How Does it Affect Meaning?Close Reading vs Big Picture Reading How to Use Text to Guide Your Interpretation

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GRE General: Reading Comprehension - How to Analyze a Literary Passage
What Are Connotation And Denotation?

Understand the difference between a word's denotation and its connotation in this video lesson. Explore how authors use both denotation and connotation to add layers of meaning to their work with some literary examples.

What Are Connotation And Denotation?

Denotation and Connotation

Denotation is a word's literal meaning. For example, were Juliet to look up the word 'rose' in the dictionary, she would find something like, 'a bush or shrub that produces flowers, usually red, pink, white or yellow in color.' Similarly, street names, like Wall Street or Northeast Sixth Street, tell people where they are and help them get to where they want to go.

On the other hand, the connotation is a word's underlying meanings; it is all the stuff we associate with a word. So, while a rose is indeed a type of flower, we also associate roses with romantic love, beauty and even special days, like Valentine's Day or anniversaries. Connotations go beyond the literal to what we think and feel when we hear or see a word.

So, while Karachi tells people in Pakistan where they are (denotation), the name also makes some people feel pride because it honors a well-regarded figure Muhammad Bin Qasim in the community (connotation). Others see the name Karachi as having negative connotations because of its history of gore and crime. For some in the community, that which we call a rose, by any other name does not smell as sweet.