connotation

Borrowed from Medieval Latin connotātiō, from Latin connotō; equivalent to connote +‎ -ation.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌkɑnəˈteɪʃən/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌkɒnəˈteɪʃən/
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən
• Hyphenation: con‧no‧ta‧tion

connotation (plural connotations)

1. (semantics) 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 connotations of the phrase "you are a dog" are that you are physically unattractive or morally reprehensible, not that you are a canine.

2. (logic) 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).

• intension

• denotation

• connotative
• connotatively

• “connotation” in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989, →ISBN.