Using Context Clues
In the sentence, “The arid desert received no rainfall for months,” the word arid most likely means this.
What is dry?
The literal or dictionary meaning of a word is called this.
What is denotation?
"She was as fast as a cheetah" is an example of this type of figurative language.
What is a simile?
In the phrase "He's a night owl," being a "night owl" means this.
Who is a person who stays up late?
The part of the word “unhappily” that means “not” is this.
What is "-un"?
When you use hints from nearby words to understand a word’s meaning, you’re using these.
What are context clues?
The emotional or cultural meaning associated with a word is known as this.
What is connotation?
Giving human traits to non-human things is called this.
What is personification?
If someone says, “It’s raining cats and dogs,” it means this.
What is it is raining heavily?
The root “bio” means this.
What is life?
In the sentence, “The scientist extracted the sample from the rock, carefully removing it,” the word extracted means this.
What is remove?
The word “childish” has this kind of connotation.
What is negative?
“The wind whispered through the trees” is an example of this.
What is personification?
“She has a heart of gold” means this.
What is she is very kind/generous?
The prefix "pre-" in "preview" means this.
What is before?
In the sentence, “The scientist’s findings were incontrovertible — no one could argue against the solid evidence,” what does incontrovertible mean?
What is a undeniable/unquestionable?
The words “slender” and “skinny” have the same denotation, but “slender” has this kind of connotation.
What is positive?
This type of figurative language compares two unlike things without using "like" or "as."
What is a metaphor?
When a character says, “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse,” they are using this type of figurative language.
What is a hyperbole?
The root “scrib” or “script” means this.
What is "to write"?
In the sentence, “The children were elated when they saw the presents, grinning from ear to ear,” the word elated most likely means this.
What is extremely happy?
Identify the connotation of the word “fragrance” compared to “odor.”
What is positive?
“Boom! Crash! The thunder shook the house!” uses this type of figurative language.
What is onomatopoeia?
If someone "hit the books," it means they’re doing this.
What is studying?
A suffix changes the meaning of a word by doing this.
What is changing the form or function?