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connotation

[ kon-uh-tey-shuhn ]
/ ˌkɒn əˈteɪ ʃən /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR connotation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

  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.
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.

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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

Words nearby connotation

connivery, connoisseur, connolly, connor, connors, connotation, connotative, connote, connubial, conodont, conoid
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to connotation

meaning, undertone, overtone, significance, coloring, nuance, hint, essence, suggestion, association

Example sentences from the Web for connotation

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.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.