The Vocabulary of
Vocabulary
Vocabulary Workshop
Levels B & C
definition
 A statement of a word’s meaning; an
authoritative statement of meaning
found in a dictionary
literal
 The simplest, most obvious meaning
of a word, not used in any symbolic or
figurative manner; the meaning that
is actually meant when using a
particular word.
– “I suggest you wear a sweater because it
is rather cool inside the theater.”
– The literal meaning of cool in this context is
related to temperature – its dictionary definition.
figurative
 Creative uses of language that is
symbolic and deals with imagery, not
to be taken literally; language based
on figures of speech
– “Wow, that vintage Corvette is so cool!”
– In this context, cool has nothing to do with the
car’s temperature. Here the meaning of cool goes
beyond the dictionary definition, instead taking
its meaning from popular culture. The use of cool
here is figurative.
denotation
 The actual dictionary definition of a word,
with no feeling or emotion attached to it;
the literal meaning of the word. Consider:
–
–
–
–
home
house
residence
dwelling
– By definition, each word names a place where a person
or a family might live. Technically, all share the same
denotation. But….
connotation
 The emotional meaning or feelings
associated with a word, not listed as a part
of its dictionary definition. Consider
feelings associated with:
• home – warmth, security, stability
• house – a structure; a generic sort of building easily
pictured in one’s mind
• residence - an anonymous place where someone
resides
• dwelling – a primitive shelter
– These are feelings associated with the words, meanings
attached to them beyond their dictionary definitions.
Please consider…
If the following pairs of words are
technically synonyms, why might you
prefer being called one as opposed to
the other?
 short/petite
 pretty/handsome
 scrawny/slender
context
 The words that surround a particular
word or passage that gives clues to
its meaning:
– “I suggest you wear a sweater because it
is rather cool inside the theater.”
– The words wear a sweater are clues to the word’s
meaning in this context. The need to wear a
sweater points to cool being used to describe
temperature.
synonym
 A word that has the same or similar
meaning as another word
–
–
–
–
tired/weary
short/petite
jealous/envious
merry/jovial
 But keep in mind, there really is no
such thing as a perfect pair of
synonyms. Why not?
antonym
 A word that has the opposite meaning
as another word
•
•
•
•
•
hot/cold
sweet/sour
easy/difficult
friendly/aloof
peaceful/agitated
Homo- -nym, -phone, -graph
It’s all in the WORD ATTACK!!!
NAME
SAME
SOUND
SOMETHING WRITTEN
homonym
 Words that have multiple meanings
• Leon got into a jam with the police after
shoplifting a jar of boysenberry jam from
Albertson’s.
– First usage of jam = trouble
– Second usage of jam = fruit spread
 WORD ATTACK!!!
• homo- means same
• -nym- means name
homophone
 Words that have the same pronunciation but
different meanings and spellings:
– peace/piece
– witch/which
– him/hymn
– hair/hare
– there/their/they’re
– I’ll/isle/aisle
 WORD ATTACK!!!
• homo- means same
• -phone- means sound
homograph
 Words that have the same spelling but
different meanings and pronunciations
• The tourists visiting Tunisia feared their shiftylooking guide would desert them in the middle of the
desert.
– Pronunciation of first usage = də-SERT
– Pronunciation of second usage = DĒ-sert
 WORD ATTACK!!!
• homo- means same
• -graph- means something written
pronunciation
 The actual sound utterance of a word;
the sounds the letters of a word
produce; this varies with region and
dialect
Image source: accentpros.com
dialect
 A regional variety of speech; this can vary
in pronunciation, word choice, and word
meaning. Consider:
 soda
 pop
 tonic
 All are the same product, but it will depend
upon where in the United States you live as
to which label you use.
Image source: emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu
Consider the “Hail Mary”
Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women,
And blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our
death. Amen.

Which pair of words are homophones? That
depends on the dialect you speak.
diction
 A level of speech, described in terms
of “high,” “middle,” and “low;” it is
adjusted according to audience and
purpose of speech or writing.
Consider:
– warrior/soldier/grunt
– surgeon/doctor/sawbones
– cuisine/food/grub
euphemism
 A softer, gentler, less-offensive term
for one considered harsh
– “Aunt Louise passed away.”
– “Aunt Louise received her great reward.”
– “Aunt Louise passed through the Pearly
Gates.”
– “Aunt Louise is pushing up daisies.”
– Anything but the straight-up “Aunt Louise died.”
jargon
 Specialized language that has meaning
to a particular group in a specific
context. Are you a volleyball player?
If so, then these words have a
specific meaning to you:
– spike, kills, pancake, cobra, chicken wing
• These words are part of the jargon of
volleyball
What’s My Line?
 half-pipe, grinds, ollie, varial
– I’m into skateboarding!
 table top, banana, deadman, herkie
– I’m a cheerleader!
 Life preservers, bossy in a bowl,
looseners, shingle with a shimmy
– I’m a waitress in a diner!
analogy
 A comparison between pairs of words that have
similar relationships
– Puppy (A) is to dog (B) as kitten (A) is to cat (B).
• “An A is a baby B.” The relationship between the A’s
and B’s is the same.
– Happiness (A) is to misery (B) as confidence (A) is to
doubt (B).
• A and B are antonyms.
– Suffering (A) is to pain (B) as uncertainty (A) is to
anxiety (B).
• Experiencing A causes a person to feel B.
etymology
 The study of
the history
and origin
of words
root
 A word part that carries the basic, core
meaning; some cannot stand alone without
an affix
• mort- comes from the Latin word for dead, death,
deadly. Consider the meanings of the words:
–
–
–
–
mortal
immortal
mortuary
mortify
• How is your understand of the root mort- key to your
understanding of the meanings of these words?
Let’s talk about FIX!
 When a person speaks of needing to
FIX something, what is your first
thought as to their meaning of the
word FIX?
 Most people think of FIX as meaning
to repair.
 But what is the origin of the word
FIX?
The ETYMOLOGY of FIX
 FIX began as fixus, a past participle of fīgere,
meaning to fasten
 FIX began as a word that meant to attach.
Consider the name of a popular denture product:
 What does this product DO? Make a connection!
affix
 Attachments such as prefixes and
suffixes that carry meaning and build
upon the meaning of the base/root
word. Consider the word immortal:
 im- (Latin prefix meaning not) +
 -mort- (Latin root related to death) +
 -al (Latin suffix meaning that which) =
 immortal - that which cannot die
prefix
 An affix attached to the front of a
base/root. Some common prefixes:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
unretransindesubpre-
…and of course,
suffix
 An affix that is attached to the end
of a base/root. Some common
suffixes:
•
•
•
•
•
•
-ous
-ion
-ment
-ful
-ish
-able, -ible