connotation

noun

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.”

the suggesting of additional meanings by a word or expression, apart from its literal meaning; the act of connoting.

Compare denotation ( def 1 ).

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.

Origin:
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

Related forms

con·no·ta·tive

[kon-uh-tey-tiv, kuh-noh-tuh-] , con·no·tive, adjective

con·no·ta·tive·ly, con·no·tive·ly, adverb

non·con·no·ta·tive, adjective

non·con·no·ta·tive·ly, adverb

un·con·no·ta·tive, adjective

Synonyms
2. undertone, implication, import.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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What Is Connotating?

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Collins

World English Dictionary

connotation (ˌkɒnəˈteɪʃən)

—n
1.	an association or idea suggested by a word or phrase; implication
2.	the act or fact of connoting
3.	logic another name for intension

connotative

—*adj*

con'notive

—*adj*

'connotatively

—*adv*

con'notively

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

connotation

1530s, from M.L. connotationem, from connotare "signify in addition to the main meaning," a term in logic, from L. com- "together" + notare "to mark" (see note). A word denotes its primary meaning, its barest adequate definition -- father denotes "one that has begotten." A

word connotes the attributes commonly associated with it -- father connotes "male sex, prior existence, greater experience, affection, guidance."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

connotation definition

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.”

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

connotation

in logic, correlative words that indicate the reference of a term or concept: "intension" indicates the internal content of a term or concept that constitutes its formal definition; and "extension" indicates its range of applicability by naming the particular objects that it denotes. For instance, the intension of "ship" as a substantive is "vehicle for conveyance on water," whereas its extension embraces such things as cargo ships, passenger ships, battleships, and sailing ships. The distinction between intension and extension is not the same as that between connotation and denotation.

Learn more about connotation with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences

Remind students that what they write needs to have a positive connotation.

Compression has come to have a negative connotation.

It is also tinged with the negative connotation of a country which sees itself in decline.

The word null doesn't carry the connotation of failure that the word negative does.

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colloquial comprehension denotation hardly hotel interesting

Matching Quote

"We should not leave Shopping World without questioning our initial assumption, that here we are in the modern agora. The agora of the classical Greek city was similar, in being the market-place and yet serving as much more, indeed as the most important public space. When a citizen left the privacy of his home, wishing to engage in public life, most likely he went to the agora. Shopping World at its most general is a public space. It answers to one of the most basic of human needs, that for society in the sense of a defined space among people in which to see and be seen, in which to move and to meet, to linger and to evade, a space at the same time in which to conduct some of life's important business—in this case shopping. The Greek agora, however, was different in one crucial respect, a difference that highlights a momentous development in modern life. It was surrounded by civic buildings and temples; it served as the daily centre not only of commerce, but also of religious, political, judicial, and indeed general social life. To be in public in ancient Athens meant to be a citizen, and likely enough to be engaged in civic duties. In modern life, by contrast, the areas of political action have become so remote that to be in public for a person has lost all connotation of being a responsible citizen with duties to his community."

-John Carroll

connotation

con·no·ta·tion

connotation definition