What is the difference between connotation and denotation? This article will explain the meaning of connotation and teach you how to use this word.

Has anyone ever used a word that made sense in definition but not in feeling? They probably used a word with the wrong connotation in context. Connotation is very important when it comes to creative writing.

This article will teach you all about the word connotation and how to use it. It will also list related words, teach you how to say the word connotation in other languages, and provide synonyms and antonyms of the word connotation. So, read on to learn about connotative meaning!

What Does Connotation Mean?

According to Dictionary, connotation is the secondary or underlying meaning of a word or the emotional association that it evokes. Connotation is not explicitly stated in a word’s definition, but it is the meaning that it takes on over time in its usage. Words can have a positive connotation, a negative connotation, or a neutral connotation. The pronunciation of connotation is ˌkɒnəˈteɪʃən.

In English linguistics, you might hear about connotation and denotation. Denotation refers to the literal or explicit meaning of a word, while connotative meaning refers to the set of attributes of a word beyond its explicit meaning. Figurative language often uses connotation to express the feelings behind words.

What Is the Etymology of Connotation?

The word connotation has been used for a long time — since the late 1300s in Middle English! This word comes from the late Middle English connotacion, a word which stems from the Medieval Latin connotātiōn, connotātiō, connotatus, and connotare.

What Are Examples of Connotation?

To better understand the word connotation, it can be useful to look at words that have the same definition but different connotations.

For example, in the below list of connotation examples from Your Dictionary, the first word has a positive connotation, the second has a neutral connotation, and the third has a negative connotation:

conversing | talking | jabbering
interested | curious | nosy
beings | mammals | creatures
unique | different | peculiar
easygoing | relaxed | lackadaisical
aroma | scent | stench
sated | filled | crammed
protest | demonstration | riot
employ | use | exploit
thrifty | saving | stingy
compassion | feeling | hysteric
vintage | old | decrepit
courageous | confident | conceited
beam | smile | grimace
steadfast | tenacious | stubborn
meticulous | selective | picky
elated | happy | manic
clearheadedness | logic | coldness

Let’s take one of these examples and put it into sentences! See how the sentence’s meaning changes with just one word substituted for a synonym with a different connotation.

Positive:

Rick was an easygoing person who enjoyed nothing more than lounging in his hammock on a Saturday afternoon with a drink in his hand.

Neutral:

Rick was a relaxed person who enjoyed nothing more than lounging in his hammock on a Saturday afternoon with a drink in his hand.

Negative:

Rick was a lackadaisical person who enjoyed nothing more than lounging in his hammock on a Saturday afternoon with a drink in his hand.

What Are Translations of Connotation?

Many different languages other than American English have words for connotation. When you first learn a language, you might learn words with a neutral connotation because they are the most basic.

However, as you learn more about languages, you might discover that many of them also have words with positive, negative, and neutral connotations. You can discuss connotation in numerous languages with this list of translations of connotation from Nice Translator!

Greek: έννοια
Portuguese (Brazil): conotação
Croatian: konotacija
Hebrew: מַשְׁמָעוּת
Basque: konnaguntza
Hindi: अर्थ
Icelandic: Tenging
Korean: 내포
German: Konnotation
Norwegian: konnotasjon
Serbian: конотација
Dutch: aansluiting
Slovak: konotácia
Indonesian: makna tambahan
Chinese (Taiwan): 內涵
Swedish: konnotation
Romanian: conotație
Italian: connotazione
Hungarian: konnotáció
Czech: konotace
Telugu: కొనాటేషన్
Malayalam: അർത്ഥമത്തുസൂട്ട
Danish: konnotation
Arabic: دلالة
Russian: Коннотация
French: connotation
Vietnamese: ý nghĩa
Latvian: nozīme
Bengali: অর্থ
Welsh: nghynodiadau
Malay: konotasi
Marathi: अर्थ
Thai: ความหมาย
Kannada: ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ
Polish: konotacja
Finnish: konnotaatio
Slovenian: konotacija
Swahili: maana
Ukrainian: конотація
Filipino: konotasyon
Turkish: çağrıştırma
Tamil: அர்த்தம்
Spanish: connotación
Amharic: መግለጫ
Lithuanian: konotacija
Bulgarian: подзначение
Chinese (PRC): 内涵
Portuguese (Portugal): conotação
Catalan: connotació
Estonian: varjund
Gujarati: મતાધિકાર
Japanese: 意味合い

What Are Synonyms of Connotation?

Power Thesaurus lists many words with the same definition as the word connotation. However, many of these words may have different connotations themselves! While all of these words have the same denotation, see if you can decipher which have a positive, neutral, or negative connotation.

acceptation
allusion
association
assumption
definition
denotation
drift
essence
exegetics
explanation
feeling
gist
glossology
hidden meaning
hint
idea
implication
import
incidental mention
indication
inference
innuendo
insinuation
intension
intent
interpretation
intimation
low tone
meaning
meanings
message
nuance
overtone
overtones
pith
point
purport
semantics
semiotics
sense
significance
signification
subtext
suggestion
suspicion
symbology
tenor
thrust
undercurrent
undertone
value

What Are Antonyms of Connotation?

The opposite of connotation is denotation, a word’s literal meaning. Power Thesaurus lists many words with the same denotation as denotation.

See if you can determine which of these words have a different connotation! Do any of them stick out as positive, negative, or neutral?

acceptation
analogue
appellative
badge
clarification
cue
definition
definitions
denomination
description
designation
designatum
drift
elucidation
emblem
essence
explanation
explication
extension
first name
forename
gist
given name
guidepost
hint
implication
import
indication
indications
intent
interpretation
mark
meaning
meanings
message
pith
point
purport
reference
referent
relevance
semantics
sense
sign
significance
signification
substance
symbol
tenor
thrust
token
value

Conclusion

The definition of connotation is the feeling or emotional attributes that a word or phrase evokes. In contrast, a word’s denotation is its literal or dictionary definition.

If you are writing something like an academic paper, denotation might be more important than connotation. On the other hand, if you are writing something like a poem, a word’s connotation might take precedence.

Sources:

Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.