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Common Core ELAGrades 9–10Language

L.9-10.5: Euphemism, Oxymoron and Nuance

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.5 · Cluster: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use.

Make a Near-Synonym QuizAll 41 Grades 9–10 ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

Common Core State Standards, Grades 9-10, Language · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What L.9-10.5 Means in Plain English

Ninth and tenth graders catch a euphemism that softens a hard fact (needs some love, meaning falling apart) and an oxymoron that pairs opposites (a deafening silence). They explain what each does in its text, and weigh near-synonyms like frugal and cheap by their connotations.

Eighth graders (L.8.5) read verbal irony and puns and ranked words like firm and stubborn. Grades 9 and 10 turn to figures that soften or collide, and ask what role they play: who gains from the soft word? In grades 11 and 12 (L.11-12.5), students interpret hyperbole and paradox.

L.9-10.5 I Can Statements

  • I can explain what hard fact a euphemism is softening.
  • I can explain why a writer pairs opposites in an oxymoron.
  • I can choose between near-synonyms like cozy and cramped.

L.9-10.5 Worked Example

A real estate listing and one line of a story about the family reading it, with euphemisms, an oxymoron and a word choice to make.

Prompt

Explain the euphemisms in the listing and the oxymoron in the last sentence, then choose the word the listing would use and the word Nadia would use for the living room: cozy, compact or cramped. “Charming 1920s bungalow on an up-and-coming street. Cozy living room, lots of character, and a kitchen that needs a little TLC. Priced to sell!” Nadia read it twice on her phone as they parked, then walked up the sagging steps with a hopeful dread.

Not YetThe listing is describing the house in a positive way. Hopeful dread means Nadia is excited. The living room is cozy.It takes the listing at its word and reads only half of the oxymoron. It never asks what cozy, character and needs a little TLC are covering, or why the writer chose the soft word, and it picks one word for both speakers.
Meets the StandardThe listing is full of euphemisms. Cozy means small, lots of character means old and uneven, needs a little TLC means the kitchen needs real repairs, and up-and-coming means the street isn’t there yet. They soften every flaw so buyers come to look before they judge. Hopeful dread is an oxymoron: Nadia wants this house to be the one, and the sagging steps already tell her it might not be. The listing would say cozy, a seller’s word, and Nadia would say cramped. Compact is the neutral word in between.It translates each euphemism into the fact it softens and names its role (getting buyers in the door), explains how the oxymoron holds two feelings at once, and ranks the near-synonyms by who would use them.
Moves to Use
For a euphemism, name the plain fact it softens, then ask who benefits from the softer word.For an oxymoron, name both halves and the tension between them.Explain the figure’s role: what the reader feels or believes because of it.Rank near-synonyms from kind to harsh: cozy, compact, cramped.

Common Mistakes with L.9-10.5

Treating every euphemism as a lie

“The listing lies when it says cozy.”

Try this: Have students rewrite a euphemism plainly and say what the plain version would cost the writer, then decide whether it misleads.

Spotting the oxymoron and stopping

“Hopeful dread is an oxymoron because hopeful and dread are opposites.” End of answer.

Try this: Require a second sentence for every figure of speech: what does the reader understand because the writer chose it?

Swapping near-synonyms freely

Describing a favorite reading nook as cramped, or a packed elevator as cozy

Try this: Line up three near-synonyms from kind to harsh, and have students rewrite one sentence with each to hear the shift.

Where L.9-10.5 Fits

Comes BeforeL.8.5Read verbal irony and puns in context, and sort near-synonyms by connotation.
AlongsideRL.9-10.4Work out figurative and connotative meanings, and how word choice shapes tone.RI.9-10.6Analyze the rhetoric an author uses to advance a purpose or point of view.
Comes NextL.11-12.5Interpret hyperbole and paradox in context, and weigh nuances between near-synonyms.

Practice L.9-10.5

Vocabulary Quiz GeneratorFree ToolMake a fill-in quiz from near-synonym sets like cozy, compact and cramped, then talk through which speaker would choose each word.Near-synonymsConnotationHigh school
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Quick Check

  1. What does needs a little TLC soften, and why would the listing use it?
  2. Why is hopeful dread an oxymoron, and what does it show about Nadia?
  3. Rank cozy, compact and cramped from most to least flattering.

L.9-10.5: Other Names

L.9-10.5CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.5

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.