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Diction, Tone, Mood Words

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20 views2 pages

Diction, Tone, Mood Words

Uploaded by

aryastar1600
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Diction, Tone, and Mood Words

Describing diction (word choice)

1. Words can be monosyllabic (one syllable in length) or polysyllabic (more than one syllable in
length). The higher the ratio of polysyllabic words, the more difficult the content.

2. Word choice can be informal (conversational, colloquial), formal, literary, technical, or


old-fashioned.

3. Writers can choose to employ jargon (technical/vocabulary for a profession), slang (informal
words used by a particular group in particular contexts), dialect (the language used by a
particular region), colloquialisms (words used in everyday settings), or vernacular (the language
of a specific group).

3. Words can be abstract (general or conceptual, e.g. house), specific (cottage, McMansion, or
hut), or concrete (i.e. evoke images; e.g. dilapidated bungalow, with kudzu growing into its
busted out windows).

5. Words can be euphonious (pleasant sounding, e.g., mellifluous, murmur) or cacophonous


(harsh sounding, e.g., raucous, crack).

6. Additionally, words have denotation (an exact, dictionary meaning) and connotation
(associative/suggestive meanings). E.g. “house” and “home” have the same denotative meaning,
but “home” conjures warmth that “house” does not.

Words to describe diction

Literal simple plain intelligible Figurative metaphorical symbolic imaginative Literary flowery Lofty
(noble--proud, possibly self important) bombastic (high sounding with little meaning) showy pretentious
inflated ostentatious (designed to impress) Insincere contrived false Moralistic puritanical religious
spiritual righteous Colloquial conversational ordinary common Obscure unclear abstract ambiguous
equivocal Concrete sensuous specific particular precise illustrative Comic humorous playful Connotative
suggestive associative Refined cultivated polished sophisticated eloquent Pedantic didactic scholastic
bookish Detached removed objective cold Emotionally-charged evocative expressive romantic passionate
personal warm Ornate ornamental gaudy Poetic lyric sonorous melodious Scientific technical Esoteric
(understood by a chosen few) Provincial (small-town) rural rustic unpolished Euphemistic slippery coded
evasive sneaky Scholarly intellectual academic Formal conventional ceremonial stiff impersonal
Grotesque horrific Homespun folksy homey slang Idiomatic (using expressions common to a native
speaker) peculiar representative Insipid (uninteresting) tame dull Trite (common, banal) stereotypical
offensive Informal casual everyday Learned bookish educated experienced Vulgar (impolite, coarse)
Tone and Mood Words
Diction impacts tone and mood

Tone is the writer/ speaker/narrator’s attitude to Mood is the atmosphere/feelings evoked in the
their subject or the reader. reader.

Aggressive, forceful, assertive Bright


Ambivalent, uncertain Calm
Angry, enraged Cheerful
Assured, steady, confident Contemplative, reflective
Blunt, straightforward (vs evasive) Dreamy
Cold, sterile, passionless Frightful (terror/horror)
Formal (vs informal), serious Grateful
Detached, impersonal, neutral, withdrawn Gloomy
Disgusted Harmonious
Hesitant, timid Hopeful, optimistic, uplifting
Hopeful Inspirational
Intimate, familiar Light-hearted
Ironic, sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek Melancholy, sad
Meditative, ponderous Menacing
Playful Mysterious, perplexing
Reverential Ominous, foreboding
Sad, sorrowful Peaceful, serene
Satirical Proud, patriotic
Self-conscious Suspenseful
Sentimental, wistful Uneasy
Sincere
Warm

Add your own: Add your own:


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