Is there a single word to describe a word that has the same literal meaning, but is opposite in connotation to another word? In other words, what is to connotation as antonym is to denotation?
To clarify, I mean "connotation" in the simplest possible way, such as this Wikipedia quote:
A connotation is frequently described as either positive or negative,
with regard to its pleasing or displeasing emotional connection.
Suppose I have some connotative words with generally accepted synonyms (in a given sense) with opposite connotations (in this pleasing/displeasing emotional connection sense):
- cheap and affordable, meaning "not expensive": typically affordable would be "inexpensive in a positive way" and cheap might be "inexpensive in a negative way"
- famous and notorious, meaning "not obscure": to say notorious evokes a negative connotation, while famous evokes a positive connotation
Is there a word to describe this relationship between famous and notorious, cheap and affordable?
In a sentence: "Our product is not expensive, but could you find a ____ [word of opposite connotation] to cheap? Maybe affordable would leave a more positive impression."
A different context: "He is definitely known, but I wouldn't say famous; to use a ____ [word of opposite connotation], you could say he is notorious."
Best Answer
You're looking for "Emotive Conjugation" (also commonly referred to as "Russel Conjugation") — it's best described with examples. I'll borrow directly from the philosopher Bertrand Russell who gave a few examples on BBC Radio in the '40s.
One example he gave was:
In this example, the three phrases have synonymic denotation.
The first phrase conveys positive emotion, the second conveys neutral emotion, and the third conveys negative emotion. Although phrase 1 and 3 are synonyms, their connotations are antonymic.
Here's a link to a piece on the topic: https://www.edge.org/response-detail/27181
Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotive_conjugation