Diction Flashcards
The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.
DICTION
The suggested or implied meaning of a word or phrase.
Connotation
“He’s such a dog.” In this sense, the word dog connotes ugliness.
Connotation
“That woman is a dove at heart.” Here, the dove implies gentleness.
Connotation
“That clothing is cheap!” This could mean affordable, but people often associate the word “cheap” with something that is of poor quality.
Connotation
The dictionary definition of a word.
Denotation
The blueberry is very blue. (The berry is literally the color blue.)
Denotation
You’re barking up the wrong tree. (There would literally have to be a dog barking at the foot of a tree.)
Denotation
“It was the whiteness of the whale that above all things appalled me.” (This is a sentence from Moby Dick that literally describes the white whale because that’s exactly what Moby Dick was.)
Denotation
Special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand.
Jargon
The perpetrator allegedly violated various federal laws.
Jargon
If this medication causes your symptoms to worsen then call a physician.
Jargon
As they set the right angle for the camera’s final aerial shot, they allowed back lighting to shine on the actor’s face.
Jargon
A particular form of a language which is peculiar to a specific region or social group.
Dialect
A person from the South may use, “Howdy,” as a greeting.
Dialect
Instead of using “an elevator,” people in England use a “lift.”
Dialect
I once heard a man in Florida say he was “fixin’ to get going.”
Dialect
She’s as headstrong as an allegory.
Malapropism
Illiterate him quite from your memory.
Malapropism
We have comprehended two perpetrators.
Malapropism
The mistaken substitution of one word for another word that sounds similar.
Malapropism
A word or phrase that is not formal or literary, typically one used in ordinary or familiar conversation.
Colloquialism
Using the words “ain’t” or “gonna” are examples of…
Colloquialism
“That test was mad hard.”
Colloquialism
“His new outfit gave him a whole new swag.”
Colloquialism
Nonstandard grammatical usage; a violation of grammatical rules.
Solecism
I ain’t no eighty years old.
Solecism
My feets is tired, but my soul is rested.
Solecism
It don’t matter if you’re black or white.
Solecism
