Question

Which sentence carries a neutral connotation?

A.
The stench of fish filled the place.
B.
The reek of fish filled the place.
C.
The smell of fish filled the place.
D.
The malodor of fish filled the place.

Answer 1

connotation is a commonly understood cultural or emotional association that some word or phrase carries, in addition to its explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation.

A connotation is frequently described as either positive or negative, with regard to its pleasing or displeasing emotional connection. For example, a stubborn person may be described as being either strong-willed or pig-headed; although these have the same literal meaning (stubborn), strong-willed connotes admiration for the level of someone's will (a positive connotation), while pig-headedconnotes frustration in dealing with someone (a negative connotation).
connotation is a commonly understood cultural or emotional association that some word or phrase carries, in addition to its explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation.

A connotation is frequently described as either positive or negative, with regard to its pleasing or displeasing emotional connection. For example, a stubborn person may be described as being either strong-willed or pig-headed; although these have the same literal meaning (stubborn), strong-willed connotes admiration for the level of someone's will (a positive connotation), while pig-headedconnotes frustration in dealing with someone (a negative connotation).The smell of fish filled the place.

Answer 2

The correct answer is C. The smell of fish filled the place

Step-by-step explanation:

In language, the connotation refers to the ideas, images, thoughts about a word that are created by speaker and different from the denotative or dictionary meaning. Because of this, words that are synonyms in dictionaries might have a different connotation, which means words can have a negative, neutral or positive connotation.

In the case of the sentences presented all of them include a word that refers to the odor of fish; however, in the case of stench, reek and malodor all this imply a disgusting smell and therefore have a negative connotation. Bur in the case of "The smell of fish filled the place" the word "smell" is mainly neutral as it does not imply the smell was pleasant or unpleasant but just that the fish had an odor.