connotations
Use Connotations in a sentence
əˈteɪ noun
1.
a.
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.”
b.
Compare denotation ( def 1 ). the suggesting of additional meanings by a word or expression, apart from its literal meaning; the act of connoting.
2.
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.
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
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·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.
2. undertone, implication, import.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To connotations
00:10
Connotations
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
connotation (ˌkɒnəˈteɪʃən) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —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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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
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.”
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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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
IN contrast to politics, in the world of entrepreneurs, going public has fabulously positive connotations.
Because words have meaning, and that particular word carries some pretty dangerous connotations in an educational context.
But in that context, the negative connotations of the word should be forgotten.
Those rogue connotations followed me into the workplace.
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