connotation

[ kon-uh-tey-shuhn ]

/ ˌkɒn əˈteɪ ʃən /

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See synonyms for: connotation / connotations / connotative on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

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.

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR connotation

1 undertone, implication, import.

See synonyms for connotation on Thesaurus.com

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Compare denotation.

Origin of connotation

1375–1425 for earlier sense; 1525–35 for current senses; late Middle English connotacion<Medieval Latin connotātiōn- (stem of connotātiō), equivalent to connotāt(us) (past participle of connotāre to connote; see -ate¹) + -iōn--ion

OTHER WORDS FROM connotation

con·no·ta·tive

[kon-uh-tey-tiv, kuh-noh-tuh-], /ˈkɒn əˌteɪ tɪv, kəˈnoʊ tə-/, con·no·tive, adjectivecon·no·ta·tive·ly, con·no·tive·ly, adverbnon·con·no·ta·tive, adjectivenon·con·no·ta·tive·ly, adverb

un·con·no·ta·tive, adjective

Words nearby connotation

conniving, connoisseur, Connolly, Connor, Connors, connotation, connotative, connote, Conn's syndrome, connubial, conodont

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use connotation in a sentence

The “game manager” label carries a negative connotation, but Smith is one of the NFL’s best at protecting the ball.
Washington football preview: Alex Smith on track to start vs. Eagles with playoffs on the line|Nicki Jhabvala|January 2, 2021|Washington Post
Even the word audit itself has a lot of negative connotations, and that’s understandable.
The key to future election security starts with a roll of the dice|Bobbie Johnson|December 16, 2020|MIT Technology Review
The terms diverged when we filtered just for ones with negative connotations.
Amazon’s new health band is the most invasive tech we’ve ever tested|Geoffrey Fowler, Heather Kelly|December 10, 2020|Washington Post
Whilst only 7% of queries will be impacted in initial roll-out, further expansion of this new passage indexing system could have much bigger connotations than one might first suspect.
Could Google passage indexing be leveraging BERT?|Dawn Anderson|October 29, 2020|Search Engine Land

This is not an example of AI taking away jobs and that more negative connotations that you get when you talk about AI and business.
How AI will revolutionize manufacturing|Jason Sparapani|September 29, 2020|MIT Technology Review
But that has never struck me as terribly apt or helpful, despite its obviously negative connotation.
Racism Is White America’s HIV|Gene Robinson|August 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In case the connotation is lost, “Theater Kid” is not a good thing here.
Allison Williams Won’t Suck as Peter Pan|Kevin Fallon|July 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Linda Perry-style,” of course, carries with it a history and a very specific connotation.
Can Linda Perry Save Music?|Kevin Fallon|July 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Filmmaker Lauren Greenfield examines the negative connotation of the phrase and turns it into an affirmation.
Will Ferrell Soccer Speech, Cliff Dive Slip ‘N Slides, and More Viral Videos|Alex Chancey|June 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It has this crazy negative connotation that I never understood.
Haim: We’re a Band. Not a ‘Girl Band.’|Melissa Leon|May 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To fix the connotation of a concrete name, or the denotation of the corresponding abstract, is to define the name.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive|John Stuart Mill
Why, I should say it means 'skilful, clever,' and it carries with it the connotation of 'novel.'
Riders of the Silences|John Frederick
They had been diverted from their hereditary connotation to signify impressions for which Nature did not intend them.
Tess of the d'Urbervilles|Thomas Hardy
This term one may accept as technically correct without necessarily accepting the sinister connotation imputed to it by labor.
A History of Trade Unionism in the United States|Selig Perlman
The specific difference is that which must be added to the connotation of the genus to complete the connotation of the species.
Analysis of Mr. Mill's System of Logic|William Stebbing

British Dictionary definitions for connotation

connotation

/ (ˌkɒnəˈteɪʃən) /

noun

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

the act or fact of connoting

logic another name for intension (def. 1)

Derived forms of connotation

connotative (ˈkɒnəˌteɪtɪv, kəˈnəʊtə-) or connotive, adjectiveconnotatively or connotively, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for connotation

connotation

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.”

connotation

OTHER WORDS FOR connotation

Origin of connotation

OTHER WORDS FROM connotation

Words nearby connotation

Words related to connotation

How to use connotation in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for connotation

Derived forms of connotation

Cultural definitions for connotation