A pair of expressions that have the same denotation, but different expressive meanings would be the words “cop” and “officer”.  This is because, although they have the same meaning, they are used differently depending on the situation, location, audience, etc. in which the speaker is using the word.  These two words have the same denotation because of the simple fact that they both refer to someone on a police force.  Despite this similarity, and the fact that they can technically be used interchangeably, they do in fact have different senses and expressive meanings.  The word “cop” is used in a more relaxed or informal way.  For example, if someone is talking to a friend they would most likely say, “A cop pulled me over today because I didn’t come to a complete stop.”  Whereas, if the speaker was talking directly to the cop, they would probably say, “Hello officer“, as opposed to, “Hello cop.”  This is due to the fact that the word “officer” is seen as more formal, proper, or respectful.

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