What’s the Meaning of the Word “Connotation”?

Ever catch bad vibes from a text? Maybe all you got back was a 'Kk'? That feeling or emotional association is the text's connotation (which perhaps didn't sit well with you).

What does the word connotation mean?

Connotation (a noun), the OED defines the term as “The signifying in addition; inclusion of something in the meaning of a word besides what it primarily denotes; implication.” In conversation, you could say that the word 'discipline' has unhappy connotation of punishment and repression.

Its verb form is connote, which relatedly means to “convey in addition to exact explicit meaning”: for her, the word “family” connotes love and comfort.

Connotation vs. denotation

If the connotation of a word is its nonliteral, implicit meaning, then consider denotation as the polar opposite; i.e., the explicit, literal meaning is its denotation.

Hobbes..bestowed little or no attention upon the connotation of words; and sought for their meaning exclusively in what they denote.
—J.S. Mill, System of Logic

Synonyms & nearby phrases

Other synonyms include intimation, suggestion, suspicion, insinuation, under-meaning.

The word connotation (in sentences)

The intension of a term is synonymous with its comprehension, or connotation, or depth.
—W. S. Jevons, Elementary Lessons in Logic, 1876

An epithet sometimes detracts from, instead of adding to, the connotation of a word.
—E. Poste, translation of Gaius, Institutionum Iuris Civilis, 1875

The word “evolution,” with its connotation of unrolling, of progressive development, was not favored by Darwin; he preferred the bleak phrase “descent with modification” for his theory.
—John Updike, New Yorker, 30 Dec. 1985

Practice: connotation

FAQs

What is the meaning of “connotation”? +

It refers to the ideas or feelings a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning. It is the emotional association or implication a word carries; ex: ‘bad vibes’ from a text.

What part of speech is “connotation”? +

“Connotation” is primarily a noun. It is used to refer to the associated feelings or ideas. The plural form is “connotations,” as used in phrases like “negative connotations.”

What is the verb form of “connotation”? +

The verb form is “connote.” It means to imply or suggest something in addition to the exact explicit meaning. For example, the word “family” can “connote love and comfort” for someone.