How do you tell a word's dictionary meaning from the feelings it carries, and how does that distinction help you read tone and figurative language?
Denotation, connotation, and figurative meaning: distinguishing a word's denotation (literal dictionary meaning) from its connotation (the positive or negative feelings it carries), interpreting figurative meaning, and analyzing how word choice and connotation shape tone, on a LEAP English I or II reading passage.
How to analyze denotation, connotation, and figurative meaning on a LEAP English I or II passage: telling a word's literal meaning from the feelings it carries, interpreting figurative language, and explaining how connotation builds tone. This is the language-strand basis for reading tone and an author's word choice.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this skill is asking
Denotation is a word's literal dictionary meaning; connotation is the feeling it carries; and figurative meaning is meaning beyond the literal. LEAP English I and II test all three under the Language strand (L.9-10.5), which asks you to interpret figurative language and analyze nuances in the meaning of words. This skill is the language-strand foundation for reading tone, because an author signals attitude through the connotations of the words they choose. You will see items asking which of several near-synonyms carries a positive or negative connotation, items interpreting a figurative phrase, and items connecting word choice to tone. This page covers telling denotation from connotation, interpreting figurative meaning, and explaining how word choice builds tone. The transferable skill is hearing the feeling in a word, which powers both close reading and the precise word choice the writing rubric rewards.
Denotation versus connotation
Two words can mean the same thing and feel completely different.
This is why a question can ask which of several similar words carries the most positive or negative connotation: the denotations match, so the answer turns on feeling. An author choosing "scrawny" over "slender" is signaling a judgment, and reading that judgment is reading tone. This skill connects directly to figurative language in the literary module (the effect of word choice) and to author's purpose and craft in the informational module (how word choice advances a purpose). Louisiana standard L.9-10.5 asks you to analyze nuances in meaning, which is the connotation skill exactly.
Figurative meaning and tone
Words also mean more than they literally say.
Reading connotation and figurative meaning is therefore not a separate, isolated grammar skill; it is the engine of tone and one of the clearest windows into an author's attitude. It also matters for your own writing: the Knowledge of Language and Conventions dimension and good written expression reward precise, well-chosen words, and choosing for connotation ("determined" rather than "stubborn") is part of that precision. Hearing the feeling in words is a skill that pays off across reading and writing alike.
Working a connotation item
Try this
Q1. What is the difference between denotation and connotation? [Recall]
- Cue. Denotation is a word's literal dictionary meaning; connotation is the positive, negative, or neutral feeling it carries. Near-synonyms can share a denotation but differ in connotation, like "thrifty" versus "stingy."
Q2. An author calls a quiet child "withdrawn" rather than "reserved." What does the word choice suggest? [Short explanation]
- Cue. "Reserved" is fairly neutral or positive (private, composed), while "withdrawn" carries a more negative connotation of being shut off or troubled. Choosing "withdrawn" suggests the author sees the child's quietness as a concern, which reveals tone and point of view.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of LDOE exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
LEAP 2025 English II (style)1 marksThe words 'thrifty,' 'frugal,' and 'stingy' share a similar denotation (careful with money) but differ in connotation. Which carries the most negative connotation? (1) thrifty, (2) frugal, (3) stingy, (4) they are identical.Show worked answer →
Answer: (3). All three mean careful with money (their shared denotation), but "stingy" carries a clearly negative connotation, suggesting meanness, while "thrifty" and "frugal" are neutral to positive. Connotation is the feeling a word carries beyond its dictionary meaning.
Why not the others: (1) and (2) describe the same careful-with-money behavior approvingly or neutrally; (4) is wrong because the words differ in feeling even though their denotation is similar. Louisiana standard L.9-10.5 asks you to analyze nuances in word meaning, which is exactly this difference.
LEAP 2025 English I (style)2 marksAn author describes a politician's speech as 'a torrent of slogans.' Explain the figurative meaning and the connotation, and what they suggest about the author's view. (2 points: meaning and what it suggests.)Show worked answer →
Figuratively, "a torrent of slogans" compares the speech to a flood (a torrent), suggesting an overwhelming rush of slogans rather than substance. The connotation of "torrent" (uncontrolled, excessive) and "slogans" (empty catchphrases) is negative, so the phrase suggests the author views the speech as long on noise and short on real ideas.
A full-credit answer reads the figurative comparison and the connotations together and states what they reveal about the author's attitude (critical or dismissive). Connotation and figurative language are how authors signal tone, so the phrase is evidence of the author's point of view, not a neutral description.
Related dot points
- Vocabulary in context: determining the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues (definition, example, contrast, and inference from surrounding sentences), and choosing the meaning that fits the passage, on a LEAP English I or II reading passage where vocabulary is tested in context.
How to determine word meaning in context on a LEAP English I or II passage: using definition, example, contrast, and inference clues, and choosing the meaning that fits the passage rather than a memorized definition. LEAP tests vocabulary in context, often with multiple-meaning words, not as isolated lists.
- Word parts: using knowledge of Greek and Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes to determine or clarify the meaning of unfamiliar words, recognizing how a suffix can change a word's part of speech, and combining word-part analysis with context clues on a LEAP English I or II reading passage.
How to use word parts on a LEAP English I or II passage: Greek and Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes to determine word meaning, recognizing how suffixes change part of speech, and combining word-part analysis with context. A second tool, alongside context clues, for unknown words under L.9-10.4.
- Figurative language and literary devices in literary texts: identifying simile, metaphor, personification, imagery, symbolism, hyperbole, and tone, and analyzing the effect of these choices and of an author's word choice on meaning and tone, on a LEAP English I or II literary passage.
How to analyze figurative language and literary devices on a LEAP English I or II literary passage: identifying simile, metaphor, personification, imagery, symbolism, and tone, and, crucially, explaining their effect. LEAP rewards analysis of how word choice shapes meaning and tone, not just labeling devices.
- Author's purpose and craft in informational texts: identifying the author's purpose (to inform, persuade, or explain) and point of view, and analyzing how craft choices (word choice, tone, rhetorical appeals to logic, emotion, and credibility, and rhetorical devices) advance that purpose on a LEAP English I or II informational passage.
How to analyze author's purpose and craft on a LEAP English I or II informational passage: identifying the purpose and point of view, and explaining how word choice, tone, and rhetorical appeals (logic, emotion, credibility) advance it. The marks come from connecting a craft choice to the purpose it serves.
- Grammar and usage conventions: applying the conventions of standard English grammar and usage, including subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement and clear pronoun reference, consistent verb tense, and correct modifier placement, as tested in revising and editing items and rewarded in the Knowledge of Language and Conventions dimension of the LEAP writing rubrics.
The grammar and usage conventions LEAP English I and II expect: subject-verb agreement, pronoun agreement and clear reference, consistent verb tense, and modifier placement. These are tested in editing items and scored in the Knowledge of Language and Conventions dimension of the writing rubrics.
Sources & how we know this
- LEAP 2025 Assessment Guide for English I and English II — LDOE (2025)
- Louisiana Student Standards for English Language Arts — LDOE (2025)