Definition:

The emotional implications and associations that a word may carry, in contrast to its denotative (or literal) meanings. Verb: connote. Adjective: connotative. Also called intension or sense.

In his book Patterns and Meanings (1998), Alan Partington observes that connotation is a "problem area" for learners of a language: "[Because] it is an important mechanism for the expression of attitude, it is of paramount importance that learners be aware of it in order to grasp the illocutionary intent of messages."

See Examples and Observations, below. Also see:

• Choosing the Best Words: Denotations and Connotations
• The Connotative Power of Words
• Associative Meaning
• Bertrand Russell on the Connotative Power of Words
• Conceptual Meaning
• Commonly Confused Words: Connotation and Denotation
• Commonly Confused Words: Connote and Denote
• Dysphemism
• Euphemism
• Glittering Generalities
• Loaded Words
• Orthophemism
• Paradiastole
• Pejorative Language
• Reflected Meaning
• Semantics
• Semiotics
• Snarl Words & Purr Words
• Subtext
• Synonym and Synonymy
• Usage Note
• Word Choice
• Writers on Writing: Ten Tips for Finding the Right Words

Etymology:
From the Latin, "mark along with"

Examples and Observations:

• "In the East the wilderness has no evil connotation; it is thought of as an expression of the unity and harmony of the universe."
  (William O. Douglas)
• "Exercise addiction.
  
  "It sounds like an oxymoron--exercise has a healthy connotation, while addiction sounds negative.
  
  "But experts are seeing some people abuse a healthy lifestyle--and for one Los Angeles woman, the addiction lasted nearly 20 years."
  (Jessica Ryen Doyle, "Woman Battles Exercise Addiction for Nearly 20 Years." Fox News.com, October 17, 2012)

• "In the real world, procrastination has a negative connotation.
  
  "People who leave things to the last minute are often characterized as lazy, unprepared and inefficient.
  
  "In professional sports, though, procrastination isn’t a label to be ashamed about. In fact, putting things off until the last possible moment might be the sign of a true champion."
  (Ian Mendes, "Procrastinate Like a Champion." Ottawa Citizen, October 15, 2012)
• "Debt is a four letter word. For many people it has the same connotation as many other four letter words. However, not all debt is bad. . . . In general terms good debt is defined as debt that allows someone to invest in the future such as business loans, student loans, mortgages and real estate loans."
  ("How to Know When Debt Is a Four Letter Word." MarketWatch, October 17, 2012)
• "'Stimulus is Washington talk,' said Rahm Emanuel, the coming White House chief of staff with a sandpapered-fingertip sensitivity to the familiar connotation of words. 'Economic recovery is how the American people think of it.'"
  (William Safire, "Recovery." The New York Times, Dec. 12, 2008)
• Synonyms and Connotations
  "A group of synonyms cannot by definition be distinguished in terms of their denotation, but they usually display noticeable differences of connotation, as in the case of car, automobile, runabout, buggy, banger, bus, hot rod, jalopy, old crock, racer, and so on."
  (David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003)
• A Rose by Any Other Name
  Mr. Powers: Jones. I don't like that name. It's going to handicap you, young man. Now wait a minute. I've got some sort of a name here. Yes. Haverstock. Huntley Haverstock. Sounds a little more important, don't you think, Mr. Fisher?
  Mr. Fisher: Oh, yes, yes. Very dashing.
  Mr. Powers: . . . Well, speak up young man. You don't mind being Huntley Haverstock, do you?
  Johnny Jones: A rose by any name, sir.
  (Harry Davenport, George Sanders, and Joel McCrea in Foreign Correspondent, 1940)
  
   
• "What’s Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
  Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
  Belonging to a man. O! be some other name:
  What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
  By any other name would smell as sweet."
  (Juliet in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare)
   
• Lisa: "A rose by any other name smells as sweet."
  Bart: Not if you call them "Stench Blossoms."
  (The Simpsons)
• "Light" Cigarettes
  "Altria said it had used terms like 'light' as well as packaging colors to connote different tastes, not safety. But study after study--including ones by the industry disclosed in tobacco lawsuits--has shown consumers believe the terms and colors connote a safer product."
  (Duff Wilson, "Coded to Obey Law, Lights Become Marlboro Gold." The New York Times, Feb. 18, 2010)
• Pork Butt or Boston Roast?
  "In an effort to boost sales going into the grilling season and make shopping at the meat counter a bit easier, the pork and beef industries are retooling more than 350 names of meat cuts to give them more sizzle and consumer appeal. . . .
  
  "[By summer,] the 'pork chop' will be gone. Instead, grocery retailers could be stocking stacks of 'porterhouse chops,' 'ribeye chops' and 'New York chops.' The pork butt -- which actually comes from shoulder meat--will be called a Boston roast."
  ("New Meat Names Mean Bye Bye, Pork Chop; Hello, Ribeye." Chicago Tribune, April 10, 2013)
• Reservation
  "The name reservation has a negative connotation among Native Americans--an intern camp of sorts."
  (John Russell)
• Tribe
  "Since 'tribe' has assumed a connotation of primitiveness or backwardness, it is suggested that the use of 'nation' or 'people' replace the term whenever possible in referring to Native American peoples."
  (R. B. Moore, "Racism in the English Language," in The Production of Reality, ed. J. O'Brien, 2005)
• Socialism and Capitalism
  "[For many], socialism implies egalitarianism and that people are living for society, while capitalism has been given the connotation of materialism, 'greedy,' 'selfish,' 'self-serving,' and so on."
  (Milton Friedman)
• Denotation and Connotation in a Poem by E.A. Robinson
  In the following poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, distinguish between the denotative and connotative meanings of the words in italics.

  Richard Cory (1897)
  
  Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
  We people on the pavement looked at him:
  He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
  Clean favored, and imperially slim.
  
  And he was always quietly arrayed,
  And he was always human when he talked;
  But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
  "Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.
  
  And he was rich--yes, richer than a king,
  And admirably schooled in every grace:
  In fine, we thought that he was everything
  To make us wish that we were in his place.
  
  So on we worked, and waited for the light,
  And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
  And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
  Went home and put a bullet through his head.

• Denotation and Connotation in a Poem by Henry David Thoreau
  In the following poem we have italicized a number of key words whose connotative meaning directs our response to the images. Although the poem is mostly images--the overt commentary is confined to the first two lines--the poet's attitude is anything but neutral.

  Pray to What Earth Does This Sweet Cold Belong
  
  by Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
  
  Pray to what earth does this sweet cold belong,
  Which asks no duties and no conscience?
  The moon goes up by leaps, her cheerful path
  In some far summer stratum of the sky,
  While stars with their cold shine bedot her way.
  The fields gleam mildly back upon the sky,
  And far and near upon the leafless shrubs
  The snow dust still emits a silver light.
  Under the hedge, where drift banks are their screen,
  The titmice now pursue their downy dreams,
  As often in the sweltering summer nights
  The bee doth drop asleep in the flower cup,
  When evening overtakes him with his load.
  By the brooksides, in the still, genial night,
  The more adventurous wanderer may hear
  The crystals shoot and form, and winter slow
  Increase his rule by gentlest summer means.

  (David Bergman and Daniel Mark Epstein, The Heath Guide to Literature. D.C. Heath, 1984)
• The Lighter Side of Connotations: Purses and Handbags
  "'Why is it a handbag instead of a purse?'
  
  "The General simultaneously rolled her eyes and released a tired sigh. 'A purse is a cheap, plastic discount store thing. A handbag is what contemporary, fashion-conscious women carry. And that's what we sell. Expensive designer handbags. An assortment of the latest trends and must-have famous names. They are handbags and you need to refer to them that way. You can say bag for short, but never, ever, ever say the word purse It's an insult to the exclusive designers we carry. Got it?'
  
  "'Got it.'
  
  "But I didn't really get it. The whole thing sounded kind of snooty and stupid."
  (Freeman Hall, Retail Hell: How I Sold My Soul to the Store. Adams Media, 2009)
• The Lighter Side of Connotations: Panties
  "There's a certain light connotation attached to the word 'panties.' Can we find another name for them?"
  (Joseph N. Welch as Judge Weaver in Anatomy of a Murder, 1959)

 

Pronunciation: kon-no-TAY-shun

Also Known As: affective meaning, intensional meaning