diction

diction

deliberate choice of words

denotation

literal meaning of something

connotation

feelings or associations attached to a word

loaded or emotive language

strongly emotional words like cruel or devastating

positive denotation

favorable associations “brave” “kind”

negative denotations

unfavorable associations “cowardly”

evaluative adjectives

adjectives expressing judgement

lexical cluster

a group of words that come from the same topic

euphemism

downplaying something unpleasant by saying it in a softer way. “hes in a better place vs he died”

dysphemism

harsh way of saying something

ambiguity

language with more than one possible meaning. “the chicken is ready to eat” is the chicken ready to eat or be eaten?