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connotation - 6 dictionary results

con⋅no⋅ta⋅tion

  [kon-uh-tey-shuhn]
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–noun
1. an act or instance of connoting.
2. 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.” Compare denotation (def. 1).
3. 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 ME connotacion < ML connotātiōn- (s. of connotātiō), equiv. to connotāt(us) (ptp. of connotāre to connote; see -ate 1 ) + -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

Synonyms:
2. undertone, implication, import.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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con·no·ta·tion   (kŏn'ə-tā'shən)   
n.  
  1. The act or process of connoting.
    1. An idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word or thing: Hollywood holds connotations of romance and glittering success.
    2. The set of associations implied by a word in addition to its literal meaning.
  3. Logic The set of attributes constituting the meaning of a term; intension.
con'no·ta'tive adj., con'no·ta'tive·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Connotation

Con`no*ta"tion\, n. [Cf. F. connotation.] The act of connoting; a making known or designating something additional; implication of something more than is asserted.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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connotation

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.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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connotation 
1532, 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, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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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.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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