SHADE is a free browser word game by Soulcraft where you rank four synonyms from most negative to most positive connotation. It tests your ear for linguistic nuance across 10 rounds.

How do you play SHADE?

Each round presents four words that roughly mean the same thing. You rank them from most negative to most positive connotation by tapping to place them on a spectrum. After locking in your answer, you see the correct order and an explanation of the nuances.

Each round is worth up to 4 points based on how close your ranking is to the correct order. A perfect match earns 4 points. The maximum score across 10 rounds is 40 points.

What is word connotation?

Word connotation is the emotional or cultural association a word carries beyond its literal definition. For example, 'thrifty' and 'stingy' both describe not spending money, but 'thrifty' is positive while 'stingy' is negative. SHADE tests your ability to detect these shades of meaning.

🎨

Shade

Every word has a vibe.

How it works

Four words. They all roughly mean the same thing. But the vibes are totally different.

Rank them from most negative to most positive connotation.

weird odd quirky unique

10 rounds. Tap words to place them. Argue with your friends about the results.

1 / 10

Score: 0

Most negative Most positive

1

2

3

4

Correct order

Your ranking

Your ear for nuance

of 40

0

Perfect

0

Avg Score

-

Hardest