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- Building vocabulary: roots, connotations and context
Building vocabulary: roots, connotations and context
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A wide vocabulary helps you understand harder texts and write precisely. You do not need to memorise a dictionary: you need strategies for working out new words and choosing the best one.
Roots, prefixes and suffixes
Denotation and connotation
Denotation: the dictionary meaning.
Connotation: the ideas and feelings a word suggests.
'Slim', 'skinny' and 'scrawny' all mean thin, but 'slim' sounds positive and 'scrawny' sounds negative. Writers choose words for their connotations.
Connotation: the ideas and feelings a word suggests.
'Slim', 'skinny' and 'scrawny' all mean thin, but 'slim' sounds positive and 'scrawny' sounds negative. Writers choose words for their connotations.
Using context and dictionaries
If you meet a new word, use the words around it to make a guess, then check with a dictionary.
A thesaurus gives similar words, but they are not always interchangeable: check the connotation and whether it fits the sentence.
A thesaurus gives similar words, but they are not always interchangeable: check the connotation and whether it fits the sentence.
Work out 'malevolent' in: 'The witch gave a malevolent grin as she locked the cage.'
- Context: she is locking someone in a cage, so she is not kind.
- Root: 'mal' means bad (as in malfunction).
- So 'malevolent' means wishing harm on others.
Answer: Malevolent means wishing evil or harm on others.
Use roots, prefixes and suffixes to unlock words. Think about connotation as well as denotation. Use context to guess, then a dictionary to check.
The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.
Check you have got it
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