Ever wonder why a word could have so many meanings attached to it? The definition of connotative meaning, or connotation, has to do with the socially acquired value of words. In other words, connotative meaning explains the extra meaning of words that goes beyond the dictionary definition.
Connotative meaning and connotation synonym
The definition of connotative meaning is also known as associated meaning, implied meaning, or secondary meaning. Associated meaning is the meaning that becomes attached to a word because of its use but is not part of the core sense of the word.
The opposite of connotative meaning is denotative meaning, which is the literal meaning of the word.
Each individual has a different association with a word based on their personal feelings and background, which means that connotative meaning is a cultural or emotional association to a word or phrase. The word ‘baby’ has a literal, or denotative, meaning. A baby is an infant. But if a grown man is called a ‘baby’, the connotation is negative; he is acting like a child.
Tip: the ‘con’ in the word ‘connote’ comes from the Latin for ‘in addition’. So the connotation of the word is ‘extra’ to the main meaning.
Connotation examples: connotative words
Connotation is a meaning in addition to the definitional meaning you find in a dictionary. Because of this, it is not always easy to interpret the meaning of a word based on the word’s literal meaning alone.
For example, when we use the word ‘dinner’, there is a range of possible connotations. Aside from the dictionary definition (‘a meal’), there are associated meanings that we would claim as connotative meanings:
- For one person, dinner is a time of joy, togetherness, conversation or debate, and laughter.
- For another person, dinner evokes feelings of loneliness, conflict, or silence.
- For a third, it evokes memories of kitchen aromas and certain childhood foods. The word ‘dinner’ has a range of connotations based on individual experiences.
Fig. 1 The connotative meaning of dinner could be either positive or negative.
Here’s another example of connotative meaning. If we call someone rich we can use a number of different words: loaded, privileged, wealthy, affluent. These words all have the literal meaning of rich. However, connotative words introduce negative and positive meanings that inform the reader about how an individual views a rich person.
Negative connotation, positive connotation, neutral connotation
There are three types of connotative meanings: positive, negative, and neutral. The classification is based on what kind of response the word generates.
- Positive connotation carries favourable associations.
- Negative connotation carries unfavourable associations.
- Neutral connotation carries neither favourable nor unfavorable associations.
Compare the sentences below and see if you can feel the different tones each connotation provokes:
- Tom is an extraordinary guy.
- Tom is an unusual guy.
- Tom is a weird guy.
If you think extraordinary implies positive emotions, unusual implies a neutral value, and weird gives negative associations, you’d be correct!
Here are some examples of the different types of connotative words:
| Positive connotation | Neutral connotation | Negative connotation |
| unique | different |
peculiar |
| interested | curious | nosy |
| extraordinary | unusual | weird |
| determined | strong-willed | stubborn |
| employ | use | exploit |
Connotative meanings are not only classified according to the positive / negative / neutral value a word or phrase has. Instead, there are certain forms of connotative meaning we must look at to understand the many emotional and cultural associations involved in connotative meaning.
Forms of connotative meaning
Forms of connotative meaning were first offered by Dickens, Hervey and Higgins (2016).
| Forms of Connotative Meaning | Explanation | Example |
| Associative Meaning | The overall meaning which has expectations associated with the individual. | A nurse is commonly associated with the female gender, which has meant society has adopted male nurse to counteract the feminine association with the word nurse. |
| Attitudinal Meaning | The part of an overall meaning of an expression that is influenced by a more widespread attitude to the individual. |
The derogatory term ‘pigs’ is assigned to police officers. It is implied that the speaker or writer dislikes police officers in general by referring to the collective as pigs rather than a dislike for a particular police officer. |
| Affective Meaning |
The additional meaning of the word is conveyed by the tonal register, which includes vulgar, polite, or formal. Politeness itself carries a meaning according to how a speaker addresses other individuals or learned behaviours such as holding doors open. |
Can you think of a difference between UK and US speaker’s idea of politeness? |
| Allusive meaning | When an expression evokes an associated saying or quotation in a certain way. This shows that the meaning of the saying becomes part of the overall meaning of the expression. | When an author unconsciously refers to other novels in its title, or if the title of their book involves an allusion: Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932) alludes to Shakespeare’s The Tempest (1611). |
| Reflected Meaning | This is a function of polysemy, and involves the existence of two or more denotative meanings for one word. |
If we were to refer to a person as a rat: Advice — a person who betrays their friend. Rat — the image of a dirty animal. |
| Geographical Dialect-related Meaning | The speech variety in regions or geographic borders and the meanings we attach to an individual’s accent or dialect. | If we know what a Yorkshire or Scottish accent sounds like, we can understand that an individual is from Yorkshire or Scotland. We also associate stereotypical values with the individual’s character or personality. |
| Temporal dialect-related meaning | This is another speech variety that tells us when the speaker is from. |
An example includes Shakespeare’s plays, which tell us that his speakers are from the sixteenth century and have a specific attitude towards sixteenth-century politics and religion. |
| Emphasis (emphatic meaning) | This involves effect/affect in language and literature. |
Emphasis is found in devices such as parallelism, alliteration, rhyme, exclamation marks in writing, metaphor, and emphatic particles including ‘so’. (That’s so funny!) |
Connotative meaning in literature
Writers often use various connotative meanings, such as emphasis, to create multiple layers of meaning in a story. Connotation is found in figurative language which is any word or phrase used that has different meanings from the literal meaning.
Figurative language involves figures of speech such as metaphors, similes, metonymy, and personification. Let’s look at some examples of figures of speeches which have non-literal, or connotative meanings, in Literature.
Metaphor
Metaphor directly refers to one thing as another thing to express the similarities between them.
«Hope» is the thing with feathers —
That perches in the soul —
And sings the tune without the words —
And never stops — at all —
— ‘»Hope» is The Thing with Feathers‘ by Emily Dickinson (1891).
In this poem, the literal meaning of hope is used. However, hope is referred to as a feathered entity that is perched in the human soul and constantly singing. In other words, Dickinson gives the word hope a connotative meaning. The thing then has emotional meaning in addition to its literal meaning.
Simile
Simile compares two things using connecting words such ‘as’ or ‘like’ to make the comparisons.
O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That’s newly jump in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
That’s sweetly played in tune
— ‘A Red, Red Rose‘ by Robert Burns (1794).
Burns compares the narrator’s love to a red rose that is freshly sprung in June and to a beautiful tune being played. Love is described as something beautiful, vivid, and soothing, like a rose. The connecting words ‘like’ help to add additional and emotional meaning to the red, red roses.
Metonymy
Metonymy refers to a replacement of a thing by the name of something closely associated with it.
When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
— ‘Sonnet XIX‘ by John Milton (1652).
This requires some background information. By 1652, Milton had become totally blind. The poem can be interpreted as Milton replacing the word ‘sight’ with my light. The sonnet reflects how the speaker faces both the physical and psychological challenges brought about by his blindness, for as a writer and translator he depended on his sight. As a poem about faith, how can Milton use his talents to serve God? Can he totally achieve an enlightened path without his sight?
Personification
Personification is the use of human characters to represent abstract ideas, animals, or inanimate things.
Earth trembl’d from her entrails, as again
In pangs, and Nature gave a second groan,
Sky lowe’r’d, and muttering Thunder, some sad drops
Wept at completing the mortal Sin
Original.
— ‘Paradise Lost‘ by John Milton (1667).
In ‘Paradise Lost’, Milton portrays Nature as if it had human qualities or characteristics. Nature, thunder, and sky are given extra associated meaning because they cannot literally weep about mortal sin. The poem describes Nature as having the human trait of being able to weep. This suggests an emotional association with the image of a weeping nature.
Connotation and denotation
Connotative meaning is the opposite of denotative meaning, but how different are they? What happens if a writer uses denotation instead of connotative meaning to describe a scene? To answer these questions, let’s start with the meaning of denotation.
Denotative meaning
Denotative meaning is the literal definition of a word. Unlike connotative meaning, it does not involve cultural or emotional associations to a word or phrase. Because of this, denotative meaning is also often called the literal meaning, explicit meaning, or dictionary definition.
Denotative vs. connotative meaning in writing
Now we know the difference between the two terms, let’s use our knowledge for writing purposes!
Let’s say we are writing a scene about a man who has just arrived in Hollywood. What do you think about when you hear the word ‘Hollywood’?
- Hollywood has a denotative meaning because it is a literal place in Los Angeles.
- Hollywood also has a connotative meaning because we associate the word Hollywood with the film industry.
The man could be returning to Hollywood, his home. Or, he could be an aspiring actor who hopes to ‘make-it-big’ in Hollywood.
Fig. 2 — The connotative meaning of Hollywood is associated with the film industry.
The connotative meanings a word carries can be different for different people, and we must watch out for implied or extra meanings in literature and everyday language.
Connotative Meaning — Key takeaways
- The definition of connotative meaning is that it explains the “extra”, associated, implied, or secondary meaning of a word.
- Examples of words that have connotative meanings include ‘rich’, ‘baby’, and ‘dinner’.
- Types of connotative meaning include positive, negative, and neutral.
- Forms of connotative meaning include associative, attitudinal, affective, reflected, geographical dialect-related, temporal dialect-related, and emphasis.
- Connotative meaning in literary devices appears in metaphors, similes, metonymys, and personification.
- The difference between connotative and denotative meaning in writing depends on the tone and setting of the story.
Asked by: Madge O’Hara
Score: 4.3/5
(20 votes)
Denotation is when you mean what you say, literally. Connotation is created when you mean something else, something that might be initially hidden. The connotative meaning of a word is based on implication, or shared emotional association with a word.
What are connotative and denotative examples?
Denotation and Connotation
While denotation is the literal meaning of the word, connotation is a feeling or indirect meaning. For example: Denotation: blue (color blue) Connotation: blue (feeling sad)
What is connotation example?
Connotation is the use of a word to suggest a different association than its literal meaning, which is known as denotation. For example, blue is a color, but it is also a word used to describe a feeling of sadness, as in: “She’s feeling blue.” Connotations can be either positive, negative, or neutral.
What does a connotative mean?
Definitions of connotative. adjective. having the power of implying or suggesting something in addition to what is explicit. Synonyms: connotational, connotative of. of or relating to a connotation.
What is connotative sentence?
Connotation is an idea or feeling that a word evokes. … If something has a positive connotation, it will evoke warm feelings. Meanwhile, something with a negative connotation will make someone feel less than pleasant.
42 related questions found
What is the importance of denotative and connotative?
Words and their meanings are important because you need to be able to communicate your ideas and feelings concisely. When you want to use the most concise word, you most often use the word’s denotation. These words can affect readers in different ways. The term for this kind of meaning is connotation.
How do you use connotative in a sentence?
In fact proper names in literature are deeply connotative, though perhaps in an arbitrary way. Carpentier creatively chose chapter titles that had a well established connotative significance and distorted their meaning. A connotative meaning of a television would be that it is top-of-the-line.
What is the connotation of the word cheap in the sentence?
The connotative meaning of cheap is negative. It connotes being stingy or miserly similar to Ebenezer Scrooge. Choose your Words Wisely!
What is an example of a connotation sentence?
Common Connotation Examples
“He’s such a dog.” – In this sense, the word dog connotes shamelessness, or ugliness. “That woman is a dove at heart.” – Here, the dove implies peace or gentility.
How do you use connotation and denotation in a sentence?
For example, denotation of the word “blue” is the color blue, but its connotation is “sad”—read the following sentence: The blueberry is very blue. We understand this sentence by its denotative meaning—it describes the literal color of the fruit.
What is an example of denotation?
Denotation refers to the literal meaning of a word, the ‘dictionary definition. ‘ For example, the name ‘Hollywood’ connotes such things as glitz, glamour, tinsel, celebrity, and dreams of stardom.
What is the connotative and denotative meaning of noisy?
1 : making noise noisy trucks and buses. 2 : full of or characterized by noise or clamor a noisy office a noisy scene. 3 : noticeably showy, gaudy, or bright : conspicuous a noisy sweater.
What is connotative communication?
Connotative:One word can have many meanings, Figurative meaning (positive or negative associations associations that most words have) (Ex: HOME-a place of security, comfort, family) Phenomenal Experience AND Semiotic Experience.
What is connotative in public speaking?
Define Connotative meaning. Why is it important in public speaking? Connotation refers to a meaning that is implied by a word apart from the thing which it describes explicitly. Words carry cultural and emotional associations or meanings in addition to their literal meanings or denotations.
What are strong connotations?
A connotation is a commonly understood cultural or emotional association that any given word or phrase carries, in addition to its explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation. A connotation is frequently described as either positive or negative, with regard to its pleasing or displeasing emotional connection.
What are positive connotation words?
A positive connotation is a positive or good association that connects to a specific word. The connotation makes the word seem pleasant or affirmative in the context it’s used.
What is the best definition of denotation?
1 : an act or process of denoting. 2 : meaning especially : a direct specific meaning as distinct from an implied or associated idea comparing a word’s denotation with its connotations In fact, the «Parks and Recreation» alum said he didn’t know the word’s medical denotation. —
How does connotation affect the reader?
Words with strongly positive connotations often persuade readers to see your ideas in a favorable way. Words with strongly positive connotations often persuade readers to see your ideas in a favorable way.
How do you use denotation in a sentence?
Denotation sentence example
- She studied the denotation of the sentence as a whole. …
- The denotation of a word translates the word to its literal meaning. …
- The word «dentist» has the denotation «man or woman who fixes teeth.»
What is the denotative meaning of short?
adjective, short·er, short·est. having little length; not long. having little height; not tall: a short man.
What is denotation and when is it used?
Denotation is used when an author wants the reader to understand a word, phrase, or sentence in its literal form, without other implied, associated, or suggested meanings.
Which of the following is a difference between connotative words and Denotative words?
The difference between DENOTATIVE and CONNOTATIVE meaning is that: All words have a denotation and connotation. The denotation refers to the most basic or specific meaning of a word. In contrast, a connotation is an idea that is suggested by or associated with a word.
Lexical meaning is not
homogeneous either. The plane of content in speech reflects the whole
human consciousness, which comprises not only mental activity but
also emotions. So lexical meaning may be analyzed as including
denotational and connotational components.
The notional content of a word
is expressed by the denotative or denotational meaning
also called referential or extentional meaning.
Denotative meaning
is the interrelation between the sound form of the linguistic sign
and the concept, on the one hand, and the object named, on the other
hand.
To denote, then,
is to serve as linguistic expression for a notion or as a name for an
actually existing object referred to by a word. The term denotatum
or referent means either a notion or an actually
existing individual thing to which reference is made.
Denotative meaning should be
distinguished from significative meaning. Significative meaning
is the interrelation between the sound form of the linguistic sign
(phonetic word) with the concept of the object it denotes.
1.3.5. Connotative meaning
The emotional content of the
word is its capacity to evoke or directly express emotions. It is
rendered by the emotional or expressive counterpart of meaning, also
called emotive charge< intentional or affective connotations of
words.
Connotative or
connotational meaning is termed as part of lexical meaning
expressing the emotive charge and stylistic value of a linguistic
unit.
The emotive charge
is one of the objective semantic features proper to words as
linguistic units and forms part of the connotational component of
meaning. Let us compare the following words: like, love, cherish,
adore, worship. We cannot fail to observe the difference in the
emotive charge of the members of this set of synonyms. The emotive
charge of the words adore and worship is much heavier
than that of the words like and love.
The emotive charge should not
be confused with emotive implications that words may acquire in
speech. The emotive implication of the word is to a great extent
subjective as it depends on the personal experience of the speaker,
on the mental imagery the evokes in him. Words seemingly devoid of
any emotional element may possess strong emotive implications in the
case of certain individual speakers.
The meaning of many words is
subject to complex associations originating in habitual contexts,
verbal or situational, of which the speaker and the listener are
aware, and which form the connotational component of meaning.
In some words the realization
of meaning is accompanied by additional stylistic features revealing
the speaker’s attitude to the situation, the subject-matter, and to
his interlocutor.
1.3.6. Emotive charge and sociostylistic reference of words
Words differ not only in their
emotive charge but also in their sociostylistic reference.
In the sociostylistic plane according to the sociolinguistic norm
words can be subdivided into two complex groups of vocabulary layers:
the literary standard vocabulary and non-standard or substandard
vocabulary.
The literary standard
vocabulary, in its turn, includes three stylistic layers of words –
literary or bookish words, neutral
words and literary colloquial words.
Let us compare, for example,
the following set of synonyms which are almost identical in their
denotational meaning: countenance, face, phiz (cf. their
Russian counterparts: лик,
лицо, физия).
The word countenance belongs to the bookish
or poetic layer of vocabulary. The word
face belongs to the neutral layer of
vocabulary. And the word phiz belongs to the literary
colloquial layer of vocabulary.
Against the neural layer of
vocabulary we can distinguish words belonging to higher and lower
layers of vocabulary. Here, in comparison with the word face,
which is stylistically neutral, the word countenance is felt
as bookish and the word phiz stands out as jocular colloquial.
The non-standard vocabulary,
in its turn, comprises five sociostylistic layers of words – low
colloquialisms, general slang, professional
and corporative jargons, argot or cant
and vulgarisms.
Let us enlarge further the
above given set of synonyms: countenance, face, phiz, map, mug,
pan, biscuit, clock, dial, gills, squash (cf. their Russian
counterparts: морда, рожа,
рыло, харя,
мурло). All of them belong to, slang,
jargons, argot and some of them may be
considered even vulgar.
The stylistic reference of
bookish, colloquial, slang words, jargonisms and vulgarisms is
clearly observed when we compare them with their neutral synonyms.
Stylistic reference and
emotive charge of words are closely connected and to a certain degree
interdependent. As a rule stylistically coloured words, that is words
belonging to all stylistic layers except the neutral one, are
observed to possess a considerable emotive charge. This can be proved
by comparing stylistically labelled words with their neutral
synonyms.
The poetic word countenance
and the literary colloquial word phiz carry heavier emotive
charges than their neutral counterpart face; but the low
colloquialisms and slangy words map, mug, pan, biscuit, clock,
dial, not mentioning gills, squash, are still by far more
expressive even than phiz. Here we see that words of low
stylistic styles differ in the degree of their emotive charge.
However, words of neutral
style may also differ in the degree of their emotive charge. Compare,
for example, the words large, tremendous, enormous; though
equally neutral as to their stylistic reference, they are not
identical as far as their emotive charge is concerned.
So in conclusion, connotative
meaning may be defined as emotional, expressive and stylistic
coloring of the word as an additional component to its denotative and
significative meanings within its lexical meaning.
Соседние файлы в предмете [НЕСОРТИРОВАННОЕ]
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- connotative meaning
-
,
псих.
субъективное [сопутствующее, ассоциативное] значение
See:
Англо-русский экономический словарь.
Смотреть что такое «connotative meaning» в других словарях:
-
connotative meaning — connotative versus denotative meaning … Dictionary of sociology
-
connotative versus denotative meaning — Connotative meaning refers to the associations, overtones, and feel which a concept has, rather than what it refers to explicitly (or denotes, hence denotative meaning). Two words with the same reference or definition may have different… … Dictionary of sociology
-
Meaning (semiotics) — Semiotics General concepts Biosemiotics · Code Computational semiotics Connotation … Wikipedia
-
meaning — n. 1) to misconstrue a meaning 2) an accepted; basic; clear; connotative; double, equivocal; figurative; literal; obscure meaning 3) grammatical; lexical; referential meaning 4) in a meaning (in the accepted meaning of the word) * * * [ miːnɪŋ]… … Combinatory dictionary
-
connotative — connote ► VERB 1) (of a word) imply or suggest in addition to its primary or literal meaning. 2) imply as a consequence or condition. DERIVATIVES connotative adjective. USAGE Connote does not mean the same as denote: whereas denote refers … English terms dictionary
-
connotative — Synonyms and related words: allegorical, associational, connotational, definable, demonstrative, denominative, denotational, denotative, designative, diagnostic, emblematic, evidential, exhibitive, expressive, extended, extensional, figural,… … Moby Thesaurus
-
connotative — I (Roget s IV) modif. Syn. connoting, meaning, implying, suggesting, suggestive of, hinting; see also referring . II (Roget s Thesaurus II) adjective Tending to bring a memory, mood, or image, for example, subtly or indirectly to mind: allusive,… … English dictionary for students
-
Associative meaning — According to the semantic analysis of Geoffrey Leech, the associative meaning of an expression has to do with individual mental understandings of the speaker. They, in turn, can be broken up into six sub types: connotative, collocative, social,… … Wikipedia
-
denotative meaning — See connotative versus denotative meaning … Dictionary of sociology
-
John Scottus Eriugena and Anselm of Canterbury — Stephen Gersh INTRODUCTION by John Marenbon John Scottus Eriugena came from Ireland, as his name indicates (‘Scottus’ meant ‘Irishman’ in the Latin of this period, and ‘Eriugena’, a neologism invented by John himself, is a flowery way of saying… … History of philosophy
-
Connotation and denotation — Denotation is the literal meaning of a word or phrase, whereas connotation is the suggestive meaning of a word or phrase. A denotative meaning is the primary meaning , whereas the connotative meaning is the secondary meaning of a word or phrase.… … Wikipedia
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
This is the first study to demonstrate empirically that the connotative attributes of background music accompanying shark footage affect viewers’ attitudes toward sharks.
—
Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 8 Aug. 2016
That may be because the connotative force of the word is outstripping the academic meaning of the word.
—Kory Stamper, The Cut, 9 Mar. 2018
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘connotative.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1614, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of connotative was
in 1614
Dictionary Entries Near connotative
Cite this Entry
“Connotative.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/connotative. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.
Share
Subscribe to America’s largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!
Merriam-Webster unabridged