connote

American  

[kuh-noht] / kəˈnoʊt /

verb (used with object)

• connotes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• connoted,
  past participle,  past
• connoting
  present participle

1. to signify or suggest (certain meanings, ideas, etc.) in addition to the explicit or primary meaning.

   The word “fireplace” often connotes hospitality, warm comfort, etc.

   Synonyms:

   imply, intimate

2. to involve as a condition or accompaniment.

   Injury connotes pain.

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verb (used without object)

• connotes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• connoted,
  past participle,  past
• connoting
  present participle

1. to have significance only by association, as with another word.

   Adjectives can only connote, nouns can denote.

connote British  

/ kɒˈnəʊt /

verb

1. (of a word, phrase, etc) to imply or suggest (associations or ideas) other than the literal meaning

   the word "maiden" connotes modesty

2. to involve as a consequence or condition

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• connoting
  present
• connoted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• connote
  simple
• connotes
  simple
• have connoted
  perfect
• has connoted
  perfect
• am connoting
  progressive
• are connoting
  progressive
• is connoting
  progressive
• have been connoting
  perfect progressive
• has been connoting
  perfect progressive

Past

• connoted
  simple
• had connoted
  perfect
• was connoting
  progressive
• were connoting
  progressive
• had been connoting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will connote
  simple
• will have connoted
  perfect
• will be connoting
  progressive
• will have been connoting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of connote

1645–55; < Medieval Latin connotāre, equivalent to Latin con- con- + notāre to note

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Compare meaning

How does connote compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• denote vs. connote

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Explanation

Often your body language can connote or imply how you feel without you having to saying it directly. For example, if you fold your arms and look away from someone as he speaks to you, you are connoting your discomfort. When you act a certain way to show how you feel rather than just outright saying it, you're connoting or suggesting that emotion. Words can often connote or suggest certain meanings or ideas. The word turbulent connotes the image of a bumpy ride on an airplane, for example. Connote is also used in formal logic. If A connotes B, then for A to be true, B has to also be true.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

connote connotes connoted connoting

Its association with the divine has carried into the present day: Nearly every major religion uses gold to connote holy objects and spaces.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026

By the end, Veloso brought in a Steadicam to connote that Robert has found more peace in his later years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2026

It didn't necessarily connote or imply a state of psychological unease.

From Salon ● May 29, 2023

The rulings were handed down, and timed, in a display designed to connote the announcement of sea change.

From Slate ● May 7, 2023

And now the cup, the ring and two unironed waiter’s aprons at home were the only concrete objects left to connote that a man had once lived.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

Hitchcock telescopes the debate over art versus virtue, making the point that aesthetic refinement by no means connotes morality.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

Prediction marketers tell courts that the CFTC’s lack of objections connotes tacit approval.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2025

Moreover, this assistance is limited to “federal purposes,” a term that typically connotes the protection of federal personnel or property.

From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2025

It connotes the unusual, the peculiar, the weird, the marginal.

From New York Times ● Dec. 3, 2024

Third, it connotes also the necessity of a social revolution of some kind.

From The Political Doctrines of Sun Yat-sen: An Exposition of the San Min Chu I by Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger

For a half-century, the Wasserman name connoted power—in Hollywood and in Washington.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026

It did, but this is a spinoff of the Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuck hit anthology series, its differences connoted in the last few letters of the shows’ titles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2023

Eating local, natural food has not always connoted elitism in American life, which makes sense if you think about what the culinary options are like down on the farm.

From Slate ● Dec. 26, 2022

Fifty years ago the word was a schoolyard insult; 25 years ago it connoted job opportunities in the dot-com boom.

From New York Times ● Oct. 12, 2022

The man before them was noble in appearance, and the shadows played across the planes of his face in a way that made their angles harden; his aspect connoted dignity.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

The RF’s is a “buttress” roof form, connoting the “flying” buttresses of Gothic architecture.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026

If you think you’ve got a better word connoting misery that begins with the letter “B,” contact your nearest headline writer immediately.

From Slate ● May 14, 2024

She likes to call such works “projects,” the term connoting both something about their scale — they are massive, often unable to be exhibited in a single show — and also her long-term, iterative process.

From New York Times ● Nov. 10, 2022

“This beautiful woman only exists within Soya-san,” one Twitter account said, attaching a genderless Japanese title connoting respect.

From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2021

There was a screen, connoting dying, around Johnny’s bed.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

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Related Words

• hint at
• signify

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