connotation

Syllables: con·no·ta·tion/ˌkɒnəˈteɪʃən/US/ˌkɑnəˈteɪʃən/

connotation noun: 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.

Noun

connotation (plural connotations)

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 word "advisedly" has a connotation of "wisely", although it denotes merely "intentionally" and "deliberately."
- The word "happy" has a positive connotation, while "sad" has a negative connotation.
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).

connotation meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada

connotation in Tamil

ஒரு வார்த்தையின் குணங்கள், பண்புகள், உட்பொருள் அல்லது உட்கருத்து

connotation in Urdu

اشارہ, مفہوم, تزمین

connotation in Malayalam

hidden meaning, overtone, undertone: ദ്യോതകം, വ്യഞ്ജനം, ലക്ഷ്യാർത്ഥം, അകപ്പൊരുൾ, മേൽസ്ഥായി, കീഴ്സ്ഥായി

connotation in Kannada

ಅರ್ಥ, ಅಧಿಕಾರ್ಥ, ಒಳ ಅರ್ಥದ ಸೂಚನೆ, ಲಕ್ಷಣಾವೃತ್ತಿ

More languagesFewer languages

connotation in Arabic: دَلَالَة dalāla
connotation in Malay: konotasi
connotation in Indonesian: konotasi
connotation in Vietnamese: hàm ý

Examples of connotation in a sentence

Aliens have a nefarious connotation in many science fiction books.
The denotations of the two expressions "the morning star" and "the evening star" are the same (i.e. both expressions denote the planet Venus), but their connotations are different.
Gay may not be ideal, and it has acquired negative connotations in recent years.

All 40 example sentences with connotation

Synonyms of connotation

intent

Antonyms

denotation

Forms of connotation

plural	connotations

Plural of connotation: connotations

Origin of connotation

Borrowed from Medieval Latin connotātiō, from connotō (“to mark in addition”), from Latin con- (“together, with”) + notō (“to note”); equivalent to connote + -ation.

Words formed from connotation

Words that rhyme with connotation

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about connotation

What does connotation mean?: Connotation means 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.
What is connotation in Tamil?: Connotation in Tamil is ஒரு வார்த்தையின் குணங்கள், பண்புகள், உட்பொருள் அல்லது உட்கருத்து. See Connotation meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is connotation?: Connotation is a noun.
How do you pronounce connotation?: Connotation is pronounced /ˌkɒnəˈteɪʃən/ (UK).
What is the plural of connotation?: The plural of connotation is connotations.

Words near connotation in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: connotation (page history and authors); connotation (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); connotation (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); connotation (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); connotation (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-connotation.wav.

Cite this entry: “connotation.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/connotation. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.