A Rose by any other name?

I am confident, you are arrogant.
I am firm, you are obstinate.
I am assertive, you are pushy.
I am reflective, you are withdrawn.

I have been contemplating the meanings vs the connotations of words of late. This stemmed from a discussion of an author's work. A quote from the author about being angry and how that helped him write set off a mild debate about the value of anger. There were some pros and some cons, as you would expect. Otherwise there would be no debate at all.

A con appeared to equate "anger" with "aggression" and "violence." And that is what triggered this post. Words have meanings and many words have the same meaning. Many words also have multiple meanings which depend upon usage. I won't go into that, it's connotation vs definition that interests me.

Mostly it is context which determines which word to use but, ironically, the word used sets the context for the reader.

It's all about intent, isn't it?