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connotation

noun

  1. cultural or emotional association that some word or phrase carries, in addition to the word's or phrase's explicit or literal meaning
  2. act of implication or prediction
L312278 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˌkɒnəˈteɪʃən/ / /ˌkɑnəˈteɪʃən/ / /ˌkɔnəˈtæɪʃən/

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from Medieval Latin connotātiō, from connotō (“to mark in addition”), from Latin con- (“together, with”) + notō (“to note”); equivalent to connote + -ation.

  1. A meaning of a word or phrase that is suggested or implied, as opposed to a denotation, or literal meaning. A characteristic of words or phrases, or of the contexts that words and phrases are used in.

    The word "advisedly" has a connotation of "wisely", although it denotes merely "intentionally" and "deliberately."

    The word "happy" has a positive connotation, while "sad" has a negative connotation.

  2. The attribute or aggregate of attributes connoted by a term, contrasted with denotation.

    The two expressions "the morning star" and "the evening star" have different connotations but the same denotation (i.e. the planet Venus).