Question

Peter is writing a love letter to Helen, and he has decided that the word thin is not exactly the right word to use at one point. Unable to think of a better word, he goes to a thesaurus, and he finds the following words: slender, svelte, skinny, scrawny, and anorexic. What should he keep in mind when choosing the best word for the letter?

a
The origin of the word.

b
The difference between the word's denotation and connotation.

c
The thematic form of the word.

d
The grammatically correct form of the word.

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

Well anorexic is not exactly an endearing quality. If Helen is svelte, she would hardly like to be called anorexic. The former means that she is exotic in a very attractive manner as well as being athletically thin. That's a real compliment. Anorexic is a disease caused by undereating.

He should be sensitive to how she things about language and how careful she is. D might be a factor.

She would hardly care how anorexic originated. It's not something she likely wants to be associated with.

If the word has a hidden meaning form denotation, then it is something to consider carefully. Skinny is an example. Scrawny is even worse. Helen would not like to be called either of those. They have a disagreeable meaning associated with them.

I'm not sure what the proper interpretation of thematic form of a word is. I know what a theme is, and it does not sound very romantic, unless he's going to go on forever about her thinness which is not very smart.

I would choose B. Don't use words that have hidden meanings or obvious connotations.