connotation

American  

[kon-uh-tey-shuhn] / ˌkɒn əˈteɪ ʃən /

noun

1. 1. the associated or secondary meaning of a word or expression in addition to its explicit or primary meaning.

      A possible connotation of “home” is “a place of warmth, comfort, and affection.”

   2. the act of connoting; the suggesting of an additional meaning for a word or expression, apart from its explicit meaning.

   Synonyms:

   import, implication, undertone

2. something suggested or implied by a word or thing, rather than being explicitly named or described.

   “Religion” has always had a negative connotation for me.

3. Logic. the set of attributes constituting the meaning of a term and thus determining the range of objects to which that term may be applied; comprehension; intension.

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connotation British  

/ ˈkɒnəˌteɪtɪv, ˌkɒnəˈteɪʃən, kəˈnəʊtə- /

noun

1. an association or idea suggested by a word or phrase; implication

2. the act or fact of connoting

3. logic another name for intension

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connotation Cultural  

1. The meaning that a word suggests or implies. A connotation includes the emotions or associations that surround a word. For example, the word modern strictly means “belonging to recent times,” but the word's connotations can include such notions as “new, up to date, experimental.”

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Other Word Forms

• connotative adjective
• connotatively adverb
• connotive adjective
• connotively adverb
• nonconnotative adjective
• nonconnotatively adverb
• unconnotative adjective

Etymology

Origin of connotation

First recorded 1375–1425, for an earlier sense, 1525–35 for current senses; late Middle English connotacion, from Medieval Latin connotātiōn-, stem of connotātiō “a noting, marking with,” equivalent to connotāt(us) “marked with” (past participle of connotāre “to note in addition to, mark along with”; connote ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

The Colombian film “A Poet” is, yes, about a poet, though that title takes on a revolving set of connotations—an aspiration, an occupation, a mocking epithet, a euphemism for “unemployed.”

From The Wall Street Journal

While taking on more than $100,000 in debt can have a negative connotation, at the time it may have seemed like a sound financial decision.

From MarketWatch

He also added that he downloaded the app quickly after its release, fearing it would be banned because of the negative connotations around it.

From BBC

While park runs, trail runs and marathons boom in popularity among the masses, cross-country appetite from the general public is almost entirely absent, likely influenced by those negative schoolday connotations.

From BBC

Nearly everyone Davies interviewed abroad presumed Trader Joe’s has liberal connotations—though she’s learned this doesn’t necessarily track in the U.S. itself.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• meaning
• overtone
• significance
• undertone