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

Etymology

Origin of connote

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

Compare meaning

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

• denote vs. connote

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

He claimed her firing was “for cause,” a term whose precise legal meaning hasn’t been adjudicated but is widely interpreted to connote gross malfeasance or some such offense in office.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 25, 2025

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

A dog bugging its eyes to show the whites is a phenomenon called “whale eye” that may connote distress.

From New York Times ● Apr. 11, 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

For many people, “all-inclusive” connotes sugary cocktails, forced socializing and buffet-style dining.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025

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

Your singing connotes a degree of wisdom — it’s the voice of someone who’s thought through a situation and reached a conclusion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2025

Each of the numbers two, three, four, &c., denotes physical phenomena, and connotes a physical property of those phenomena.

From A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive 7th Edition, Vol. II by John Stuart Mill

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026

Our house didn’t connote individuality any more than a GHW does; if anything, it connoted that we fit in—that we lived in the same kind of house as lots of our neighbors.

From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2025

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

In the ancient Persian tradition of Zoroastrianism, for example, the concept of asha, meaning “God’s will,” connoted the unchangeable law that emanates from the divine and governs the universe.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 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

“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

The blank space in the title represents a word that cannot be published here, connoting the urgency of her mission.

From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2018

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

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

Related Words

• hint at
• signify