denotation
the explicit or direct meaning or set of meanings of a word or expression, as distinguished from the ideas or meanings associated with it or suggested by it; the association or set of associations that a word usually elicits for most speakers of a language, as distinguished from those elicited for any individual speaker because of personal experience.
a word that names or signifies something specific: “Wind” is the denotation for air in natural motion. “Poodle” is the denotation for a certain breed of dog.
the act or fact of denoting; indication.
something that denotes; mark; symbol.
Logic.
the class of particulars to which a term is applicable.
that which is represented by a sign.
Origin of denotation
1- Compare connotation.
Words Nearby denotation
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use denotation in a sentence
You’ll find circles, as in denotations for birdies, under holes No.
Justin Rose, with a back nine out of a dream, races to a four-shot lead at the Masters | Chuck Culpepper, Scott Allen, Des Bieler | April 9, 2021 | Washington PostTo 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 MillThe denotation of this eery evil tread of ruined lives grated terribly on Lem's highly tensioned nerves.
The Red Debt | Everett MacDonaldIt is common to distinguish two aspects, meaning and denotation, such phrases as "the author of Waverley."
Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays | Bertrand RussellFor if the denotation alone were relevant, any other phrase with the same denotation would give the same proposition.
Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays | Bertrand Russell
A second reason is that propositions concerning "the so-and-so" are possible even when "the so-and-so" has no denotation.
Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays | Bertrand Russell
British Dictionary definitions for denotation
/ (ˌdiːnəʊˈteɪʃən) /
the act or process of denoting; indication
a particular meaning, esp one given explicitly rather than by suggestion
something designated or referred to: Compare referent, connotation
another name for extension (def. 11)
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 denotation
[ (dee-noh-tay-shuhn) ]
The basic dictionary meaning of a word, without its connotations. For example, the denotation of the word modern is “belonging to recent times,” although the word may have different connotations.
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.
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