- an association or idea suggested by a word or phrase; implication
- the act or fact of connoting
- another word for intension
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
con•no•ta•tion /ˌkɑnəˈteɪʃən/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Linguisticsa secondary meaning of a word or expression that comes to mind or is suggested in addition to its primary meaning: The word home often has the connotation "a place of warmth and affection.'' Compare denotation.
con•no•ta•tion
(kon′ə tā′shən),USA pronunciation n.
con•no•ta•tive
(kon′ə tā′tiv, kə nō′tə-),USA pronunciation con•no′tive, adj.
con′no•ta′tive•ly, con•no′tive•ly, adv.
- an act or instance of connoting.
- Linguisticsthe 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.''Cf. denotation (def. 1).
- Philosophy[Logic.]the set of attributes constituting the meaning of a term and thus determining the range of objects to which that term may be applied; comprehension;
intension.
- 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
- 2. undertone, implication, import.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
connotation /ˌkɒnəˈteɪʃən/ n
'connotation' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
denotation
- extant
- intent
- pejorative
- association
- attribute
- authentic
- bare
- catch
- cheat
- cloud
- colloquial
- comprehension
- emotive meaning
- hardly
- hotel
- ill
- intension
- interesting
- modern
- odor
- palatable
- willful
- scream
- sense