Both and mean that something stands out as different without giving it strong positive or negative emotions, but the words are not synonyms. One is a noun: The storm was an for that time of year. The other is an adjective: The storm was for that time of year. That little word "an" makes a big difference. After all, you could say "her behavior" but you could not put the other word in that slot.


The words that are particularly negative are , , and . These are all adjectives, so how can you tell them apart? Well, is the most negative. This word is usually reserved for things that are so shocking that you can't even believe they would happen. Of the remaining two words, has more of a feeling of sadness, bitterness, or pain. just means that the thing or event being described is bad without making it clear whether the bad feeling you get is fury or sadness.


Many of these words have very positive meanings. may sound like capture, but this verb means something wonderful has caught (and captured) your attention. And having your idea called is exceptionally positive because it means that it started a whole new line of thinking. By the way, thoughts, works, beliefs, or projects can be called this, but people generally aren't. So you can say Picasso's work changed the art world, but you can't call Picasso himself this.


The remaining words fall somewhere in between on the whole positive and negative scale. usually means that a person is bold and you kinda respect just how 'out there' and a little wild they can be. But sometimes, this word can also mean that the person is TOO bold and is being a little foolish. Most of the time is used to describe something that is a perfect example in a good way, so the word does have a positive tone attached, but it can be used in ways that are different like calling someone the of a cold-blooded killer. usually has a negative meaning because it describes something that makes you step back feeling a little intimidated, but some people use it to point out that they feel challenged. So, if someone said my class was , but they were glad they had taken it, they aren't insulting the class. If anything, they're expressing pride in having succeeded at something that initially intimidated them. is negative because it's something that's overly complicated and just really full of it. However, it's not a very negative word; it's more a word that makes you roll your eyes.


Many of the words are very neutral. If something is , that just means that it's related to the topic and stands out as being particularly important. So, the facts in the case are neither good nor bad... they just are. could describe your fears or your classnotes if you had a lot of them. No emotion is attached to the word itself. You could announce something and have it be to a declaration of war or an expression of love. The word simply means that your meaning is the same, but it doesn't give the sentence a positive or negative tone. In much the same way, simply means most important or the thing with the most impact, and simply means the second to the last. There's no emotion there.


Let's see if you can get the last four remaining words. If you have a disregard for the rules, then you don't even try to hide it when you're breaking them. And when you get sent to the principal, you're very likely to your punishment because you aren't even going to pretent to be sorry. Now, if that punishment is a public beating, that might be a little . But really, our principals wouldn't do that. There have to be circumstances before they will even call the police.