Define connotation of a word

Connotation refers to 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. The connotation of a word can be positive, negative, or neutral. It can also be either cultural or personal. Here’s an example:

To most people the word cruise connotes—suggests—a delightful holiday; thus its cultural connotation is positive. If you get seasick, however, the word may connote only discomfort to you; your personal connotation is negative.
(Vocabulary by Doing, 2001)

Connotations in Academics

Linguists, grammarians, and academics have commented on connotations and explained their meanings as the following examples demonstrate.

Alan Partington

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.»

David Crystal

«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.»
(The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 2003)

R. B. Moore

«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.»
(«Racism in the English Language,» in The Production of Reality, ed. J. O’Brien, 2005)

Connotations in Popular Culture

Everyone from television cartoon characters to U.S. Supreme Court justices and noted economists as well as well-known authors and columnists have commented on and explained connotations.

William O. Douglas

«In the East the wilderness has no evil connotation; it is thought of as an expression of the unity and harmony of the universe.»

Jessica Ryen Doyle

«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.»
(«Woman Battles Exercise Addiction for Nearly 20 Years.» Fox News.com, October 17, 2012)

Ian Mendes

«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.»
(«Procrastinate Like a Champion.» Ottawa Citizen, October 15, 2012)

Marketwatch

«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.» October 17, 2012)

William Safire

«‘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.'»
(«Recovery.» The New York Times, Dec. 12, 2008)

Duff Wilson

«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.»
(«Coded to Obey Law, Lights Become Marlboro Gold.» The New York Times, Feb. 18, 2010)

The Simpsons

— 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.»

Chicago Tribune

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.» April 10, 2013)

John Russell

«The name reservation has a negative connotation among Native Americans—an intern camp of sorts.»

Milton Friedman

«[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.»

Freeman Hall

«‘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.»
(Retail Hell: How I Sold My Soul to the Store. Adams Media, 2009)

Joseph N. Welch as Judge Weaver

«There’s a certain light connotation attached to the word ‘panties.’ Can we find another name for them?»
(Anatomy of a Murder, 1959)

Connotation in Poetry

Poetry also provides a rich canvas for the use of connotations as the two following works by poets—one modern, and one from years past—show.

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.

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)

Other Details About Connotations

Etymology: From the Latin, «mark along with»

Pronunciation: kon-no-TAY-shun

Also known as: affective meaning, intensional meaning

Also See

• Choosing the Best Words: Denotations and Connotations
• 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 and Euphemism
• Glittering Generalities
• Loaded Words
• Orthophemism
• Paradiastole
• Pejorative Language
• Phonaesthetics
• 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

What is Connotation?

Connotations are meanings and interpretations that do not particularly associate with the literal meaning of the words but have an added layer of meanings. These meanings are often derived from emotional or incidental relations with the words concerned. Colours are often implied as having certain attributes or representing particular unrelated emotions or feelings and that is one of the most common connotations. Blue is characterized to be representing sadness or red for desire.

Types of Connotations

There are a few types of connotations used in the English language depending on the kind of emotions or preset associations already engraved in people’s minds. Let’s see what these types of connotations are listed below —

Positive Connotations

Ulterior meanings that are positive in essence are the positive connotations. Good associations with any word make them categorized under this label. For example, “Affordable” almost always refers to a minimal price point that is manageable for the buyer but has a welcoming association with the socioeconomic state of people.

Negative Connotations

The words become automatically associated with something negative for primarily the feelings they arouse. To give an example, affordable things can be called “Cheap” which has a negative additional meaning of being average in quality.

Neutral Connotations

Words with additional meanings that do not have particularly positive or negative associations are neutral connotations. These meanings are often the closest to literal meanings of the words. Carrying on with the example, “Inexpensive” is an adjective used to refer to something that is not expensive. It has the same meaning as affordable and cheap but has neither very positive nor very negative connotations.

Connotations in Use

Connotative meanings are often used in various situations and ways in speech. Some connotations are harder to pick out than others but we use them every day in different aspects of our lives. Let’s discuss a few of these sectors where connotations are used with the greatest effect and frequency.

Connotations in Everyday Speech

There are many connotative terms and phrases we use in our everyday speech without even realizing that we are using connotations. Using it or listening to it being used left and right makes these connotations stick and places them in our daily use vocabulary. One good example is —

Monday Blues

“Monday” here is not any other day of the week and “Blue” is not the colour of the sky. This phrase is used heavily to refer to the sadness of already having passed the weekend in regions of the world where Saturdays and Sundays are natural weekends and “Monday” marks the start of a new workweek. “Blues” are used to refer to the “Sadness” drawn mostly from the colour’s literary associations.

Connotations In Literature

With the liberty of literary devices like metaphor, simile and imagery, literature is the best sphere to test your skills of using connotations and assigning them as authors and readers. To name one —

Sheep

In the classic, Animal Farm, George Orwell assigns societal connotations to the animals on the farm. “Sheep” referred to the portion of the society that is comfortable with just following others’ lead and lacking the urge to take a stand drawn from the animals’ gentle characteristics to be obedient farm animals who calmly follow their shepherd. People have been called “Sheep” for their timid submissive tendencies numerous times by authors and poets and that is the negative connotation added to the word itself.

Connotations In Media

News and social media exposures require the use of connotations and certain set of wordings to be very calculative since it depends directly on the effect they will have on the readers and writers in most cases.

If the writer decides to use a headline it will determine how their words will affect the readers but if the headline is given to them by their editor that often dictates the wording the entire article will have as well as how the readers will receive that. The two headlines below can exemplify this matter adequately-

Terrorist Attack Kills 21 at UK School

The word “Terrorist” involuntarily paints a picture of an individual dressed in Arab-style clothing complete with a red-white checkered headscarf in the mind of most readers. The politics behind Islamophobia comes into play in this case where this very precise negative association is generated by the use of this word across various media platforms. So, unless the news reporter wants to draw on that imagery, they would stay away from this particular wording.

School Shooting Kills 21 in England

“School Shooting” lacks any such politicized connotations yet delivers the news very effectively. “Shooting” is a negative action and it refers to the exact act of firing a gun at someone without any added layer of meaning. It has a neutral connotation and the news writer here is calling a spade a spade.

Confused about the difference between connotation and denotation? Not sure how it’s possible for one word to have many connotations? Connotation and denotation both refer to word meanings, but they’re very different concepts. Read this guide to learn the denotation definition, connotation definition, how you can remember which is which, and what connotation and denotation examples look like.

Denotation Definition

Denotation is the literal meaning of a word. It’s the definition you would find in the dictionary. For example, if you were to look up the word “proud” in the dictionary, a typical entry would read, “having or showing self-respect or self-esteem” That’s the denotation of the word.

Connotation Definition

What does connotation mean? Connotation refers to the emotions or ideas that you think of when you read or hear a word. Let’s look at the word “proud” again. While it has a clear-cut denotation, the word can have different connotations for different people. If you hear the word proud, you might associate it with negative meanings, such as egotistical, show-off, etc. It could also have positive connotations, such as self-confidence, talent, etc. Writers will often use words with strong connotations in order to evoke certain moods in their readers.

Sometimes words can develop such strong negative connotations that they are considered offensive and are no longer widely used. For example, people with physical impairments used to be known as cripples in the past, but this word became so associated with the idea of someone being damaged/incapable/less than other people that the word is no longer considered polite to use and has been almost entirely replaced by “handicapped” and other synonyms.

How do connotation and denotation differ? Denotation is the literal definition of the word, one that basically everyone agrees on. It’s the blurb you read in the dictionary. There isn’t a lot of debate or nuance to it.

Connotation, on the other hand, is much more subjective, as it refers to the emotions a word evokes. While the dictionary definition of a word like “cheap” is set, you could have a positive connotation of the word and associate it with frugality and good value, while someone else could have a negative connotation of the word and associate it with stinginess and poor quality.

One easy way to remember which word means what is that “denotation” and “dictionary” both begin with the letter “d,” and denotation is the dictionary definition of a word.

Examples of Connotation and Denotation

Want to see more examples of connotation vs denotation? Below are four groups of words. Each group has a similar denotation, but many of the words have very different connotations. As you read through them, think about if your connotations of the words match what we’ve written. Because connotation is subjective, you might have a different feeling associated with a word.

Word Group 1: Slender, Scrawny, Bony, Gaunt

• Denotation: All of these words are synonyms of thin and are used to describe someone or something without much body fat.

• Connotation: Slender is often used as a way to describe someone who is both thin and attractive, while scrawny is often associated with weakness. Bony usually conjures up images of someone who is unattractive and hard-looking, while gaunt is often associated with hunger and malnutrition.

Word Group 2: Serene, Laid-Back, Lackadaisical, Dreamy

• Denotation: These are all words to describe someone who is relaxed and not troubled by worries.

• Connotation: While serene and laid-back generally have positive connotations of someone who is calm and in control, lackadaisical and dreamy have more negative connotations of someone who is relaxed but unable to get important things done.

Word Group 3: Home, House, Shelter

• Denotation: These words all refer to a place where people live.

• Connotation: House has a pretty neutral connotation, and most people just associate it with the structure of the building. Shelter has more of a negative connotation of something that only covers basic needs and doesn’t provide additional warmth, while home has a much more positive connotation and is often associated with family and positive memories made in the house.

Word Group 4: Grin, Beam, Sneer, Simper 

• Denotation: These are all synonyms for smile.

• Connotation: Both grin and beam have positive connotations and are generally associated with someone who is genuinely happy. Sneer has a negative connotation and is usually associated with someone being cruel or scornful, while simper also has a negative connotation, but is usually associated with someone weak or unintelligent.

Summary: Connotation Definition and Denotation Definition

Denotation is the dictionary definition of a word, while connotation is the feelings associated with a word. While the denotation of a word is pretty cut and dry, one word can have many connotations for different people, and those connotations could be neutral, positive, or negative. One easy way to keep these two concepts straight is that “denotation” and “dictionary” both begin with the letter “d,” and denotation is the dictionary definition of a word.

What’s Next?

Compound sentences are an importance sentence type to know. Read our guide on compound sentences for everything you need to know about compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.

Thinking about taking an AP English class? Read our guide on AP English classes to learn whether you should take AP English Language or AP English Literature (or both!)

Writing an essay for class? Learn about the 3 key essay formats and when you should be using each.

Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this article!

Denotation
is factual m-ng of the word. “Connotation” — “con”-”together”,
“tare”-”mean”. It suggests an additional shade of m-ng,
rendering an emotion, an attitude, etc. not every word possesses
connotations. If a word is neutral and have no synonyms – it’s
usually have no connotations. But practically any word can acquire
connotation either in a set expression (education is a window to the
world), or it may acquire connotation in the text. Most words are
polysemantic and their primary m-ng may be devoid of connotation,
whereas other m-ngs may be heavy with connotations. Some words may
sound poetic or high-flown in one m-ng and quite ordinary in another
one. (“expire” — выдохнуть,
«to
breathe one’s last” at first). Sometimes a neutral word may acquire
a poetic m-ng in a unique text. Synonyms may sometimes emerge as
textual antonyms due to their textual connotations (лошадь
— конь).
God made the woman beautiful and the devil makes her pretty. Here
“pretty” — “tempting, leading man into sin, evil”.

Kinds of connotations

1. emotive
   (rendering a feeling – darling, белый-беленький)

2. evaluative
   (a matter of reasoning, judgement – stubborn-obstinate,
   miserly-thrifty)

3. expressive
   (intensity of quality – huge-big, grab-take)

4. stylistic
   (colloquial, high-flown, neutral)

5. pragmatic
   (those which are required by certain words or set expressions due to
   certain cultural beliefs, values or due to certain events that make
   an imprint on national consciousness)

Sources of connotation

There
are 2 main sources:

1. synonymical
   relations (parents – father – daddy, commence – begin – go
   ahead)

2. relations
   between the direct and figurative meaning (“Don’t be such a pig”)

There
are 2 minor sources:

1. relations
   of formal similarity (crash, dash, splash; glare, glitter, glimmer,
   glisten; mr. Gradgrind)

2. restriction
   – the word is expected in a more or less narrower environment
   (cyclotron, to hibernate – впадать
   в
   спячку

Literary
stylistics makes use of these sources of language connotation and
adds many others (repetition — “Boots, boots, boots, boots…
R.Kipling, defeated expectancy)

Lexical Stylistic Devices

1. Vocabulary
   as the main source of imagery

2. Approaches
   to classifying tropes

3. The
   main components of a trope

4. Characterisation
   of each trope

5. Stylistic
   use of set expressions

Imagery
is created in a text, esp. in a literary one, by all the layers of
the language (by a specific phonetic arrangement – rhythm, rhyme,
sound repetition). Imagery is also built by syntactical devices
(parallel constructions, rhetorical questions and other patterns of
arrangement), but the main role in imagery building belongs to
vocabulary. The greater part of vocabulary devices are associated
with figurative m-ng. These are called tropes. Yet there are some
lexical devices which create connotation without being based on
figurative use (use of synonyms, esp. if they increase in intensity
or antonyms, violation of predictability “Какие
одержал
он
пораженья,
какие
он
победы
потерпел»)

Classification
of tropes is a very controversial issue.

Metaphor,
epithet, metonymy, synecdoche, irony, personification, allegory,
antonomasia, periphrasis, hyperbole, understatement
(=meiosis-litotes), simile
(художественное
сравнение),
oxymoron,
pun,
zeugma

I.Galperin

Semantic
classification. It shows how different types of lexical m-ng interact

M.Ruznetz,
Yu.Screbnev
A
Functional classification

Every
trope is based on the following 4 components:

1. The
   tenor – обозначаемое
   the
   old man

2. The
   vehicle – обозначающее
   fox

3. The
   ground cunning

4. The
   mechanism as

The
old man is as cunning as a fox.

Sometimes
all the 4 components are given explicitly, but it is not necessary
for all of them to be actually expressed. (The old man is like a
fox).

The
old man is a fox ( no ground and mechanism)

Beware
of the old fox – he may betray you (only vehicle)

Vehicle
is indispensable

Simile

Simile
is a lexical device based on explicit comparison of 2 objects or
phenomena belonging to different classes. Sometimes a simile may
compare objects of the same class if one of them is concrete and the
other is an abstract concept. (The nurse looks after him like a
mother). A simile is the most explicit of all tropes. It either
possesses all the 4 components or 3 with the ground omitted, but the
mechanism is always present explicitly.

Tropes
and simile is no exception can be either trite — тривиальный
(language) or genuine.

“His
eyes were so much too small for his moon of a face that they seemed
to have been originally made for someone else” (“Hard times”)

“He
stood … as
hard and cold as
the weather” (“Dombey and Son”)

“He
had no
more
idea of money than a cow”

“Ye
had reminded
James as he said afterwards of a hungry cat”

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Return to Parts of a Sentence Videos

Connotation Definition

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.

For instance, “Wall Street” literally means a street situated in Lower Manhattan, but connotatively it refers to wealth and power.

Positive and Negative Connotations

Words may have positive or negative connotations that depend upon the social, cultural, and personal experiences of individuals. For example, the words childish, childlike and youthful have the same denotative, but different connotative, meanings. Childish and childlike have a negative connotation, as they refer to the immature behavior of a person. Whereas, youthful implies that a person is lively and energetic.

Common Connotation Examples

Below are a few connotation examples. Their suggested meanings are shaped by cultural and emotional associations:

• “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.
• “There’s no place like home.” – While home may refer to the actual building someone lives in, connotatively, it most often refers to family, comfort, and security.
• “What do you expect from a politician?” – Politician has a negative connotation of wickedness and insincerity. To imply sincerity, the word statesperson might be used.
• “That woman is so pushy!” – Pushy refers to someone who is loud-mouthed, insisting, and irritating.
• “My mom and dad worked hard to put me through college.” – The words Mom and Dad, when used in place of mother and father, connote loving parents, rather than simply biological parents.

Difference Between Connotation and Denotation

In simple terms, a denotation means only a single meaning of a word used in some context. It is also called direct or explicit meanings. However, a connotation means a word has various meanings when it is used in a context. It evokes various feelings which are, sometimes, not associated with it. It is also that sometimes a word used only in one sense is used in some other sense at some other place, or in some other context. We can also say that denotation means literal meanings and connotation means emotional nuances. To put it concisely, a denotation means meanings given in the dictionary and connotation means the meanings having emotional and imaginative undercurrents or undertones.

Use of Connotation in Sentences

1. Although he has seen swarms of bees, the swarming of news on the screen is another phenomenon for him.
2. John is skinny while his wife, Jane is slender. Both are, however, of similar physical features.
3. Sometimes you think and thoughts pour down and sometimes you pour water on your head and your mind refuses to think.
4. Now going to the city is an easy task than going to dogs.
5. Hannah is such a dove in her heart but you do not cross her while she’s reading.

Examples of Connotation in Literature

In literature, it is a common practice among writers to deviate from the literal meanings of words in order to create novel ideas. Figures of speech frequently employed by writers are examples of such deviations.

Example #1: Sonnet 18 (By William Shakespeare)

Metaphors are words that connote meanings that go beyond their literal meanings. Shakespeare, in his Sonnet 18, says:

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day…”

Here, the phrase “a Summer’s Day” implies the fairness of his beloved.

Example #2: The Sun Rising (By John Donne)

Similarly, John Donne says in his poem The Sun Rising says:

“She is all states, and all princes, I.”

This line suggests the speaker’s belief that he and his beloved are wealthier than all the states, kingdoms, and rulers in the whole world because of their love.

Example #3: The Merchant of Venice (By William Shakespeare)

Irony and satire exhibit connotative meanings, as the intended meanings of words are opposite to their literal meanings. For example, we see a sarcastic remark made by Antonio to Shylock, the Jew, in William Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice:

“Hie thee, gentle Jew.
The Hebrew will turn Christian: he grows kind.”

The word “Jew” generally had a negative connotation of wickedness, while “Christian” demonstrated positive connotations of kindness.

Example #4: The Animal Farm (By George Orwell)

George Orwell’s allegorical novel Animal Farm is packed with examples of connotation. The actions of the animals on the farm illustrate the greed and corruption that arose after the Communist Revolution of Russia. The pigs in the novel connote wicked and powerful people who can change the ideology of a society. In addition, Mr. Jones (the owner of the farm), represents the overthrown Tsar Nicholas II; and Boxer, the horse, represents the laborer class.

Example #5: Julius Caesar (By William Shakespeare)

Metonymy is another figure of speech that makes use of connotative or suggested meanings, as it describes a thing by mentioning something else with which it is closely connected. For example, Mark Anthony, in Act III of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, says:

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.”

Here, the word “ear” connotes the idea of people listening to him attentively.

Example #6: Out, Out (By Robert Frost)

Read the following lines from Robert Frost’s poem Out, Out:

“As he swung toward them holding up the hand
Half in appeal, but half as if to keep
The life from spilling”

In the line “The life from spilling,” the word “life” connotes “blood.” It does make sense as well because the loss of blood may cause loss of life.

Example #7: As you Like It (By William Shakespeare)

Connotation provides the basis for symbolic meanings of words because symbolic meanings of objects are different from their literal sense. Look at the following lines from Shakespeare’s play As you Like It:

“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts …”

Here, a stage connotes the world; players suggest human beings, and parts imply different stages of their lives.

Function of Connotation

In literature, connotation paves way for creativity by using figures of speech like metaphor, simile, symbolism, and personification. Had writers contented themselves with only the literal meanings, there would have been no way to compare abstract ideas to concrete concepts, in order to give readers a better understanding. Therefore, connotative meanings of words allow writers to add to the dimensions of their work that are broader, more vivid, and fresher.

Synonyms of Connotation

A connotation has various synonyms. Some are very close in meanings such as overtone or undertone as well as an undercurrent. A few more distant synonyms include implications, nuances, flavor, feeling, aura, coloring, hint, echo, association, and suggestion.

The opposite of connotative meaning is denotative meaning, which is the literal meaning of the word.

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.

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:

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.

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

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

The connotation is an expression or secondary meaning of a word, which is expressed by a word in addition to its primary meaning. It paints a picture or invokes a feeling. It is created when you mean something else, something that might be initially hidden. Words can be divided into negative, positive, and neutral connotations. A rich vocabulary allows you to choose the right words to express yourself. Choosing the right words is essential while you communicate. Although two words may have the same meaning, their connotations may vary. The words you choose significantly change the meaning of a sentence.

Connotation Definition

We can define connotation by an associated meaning of a word suggested apart from its explicit or primary meaning. The connotative meaning of a word is based on the shared emotional association with a word. Now, there can be either positive, negative, or neutral connotations. A connotation is an additional meaning to a word and the examples are endless. We have mentioned a few connotation examples below.

Connotation Examples

We learned above what is connotation now let us take a look at some connotation examples. Like we can say a possible connotation of “home” is “a place of warmth, comfort, and affection”. Again we have a colour blue, but it is also a word used to describe a feeling of sadness, as in ‘She is feeling blue.’. 

Below are a few connotation examples.

• Strong, tough, sturdy, hard.

• Proud, confident, arrogant, egotistical.

• Childish, childlike, young, youthful.

• Rich, loaded, privileged, wealthy, affluent.

• Broke, destitute, impoverished.

• Frugal, economical, stingy, cheap.

• Tempting, attractive, interesting.

• Liar, storyteller, fibber.

Negative Connotation

The negative connotation also called unfavourable connotation, is the word describing the negative qualities or the disabilities or are disrespectful of a person. It is a bad feeling or negative vibes that people get when hearing a specific word or phrase. It is a word whose connotation implies negative emotions and associations. In a sentence “the aroma of my grandmother’s cooking”, if we change “aroma” so that it now reads “the stench of my grandmother’s cooking,” the meaning changes completely. Both “aroma” and “stench” instead of having the same meaning smell, “stench” has a negative connotation, thus, the meal sounds much less appealing.

Logic

By logic, the connotation is roughly synonymous with intention. Connotation often differs from denotation, which is more or less synonymous with extension. Otherwise, the connotation of the word may be thought of as the set of all its possible meanings. The denotation of a word is the collection of things it refers to. Its connotation is what it implies about the things it is used to refer to. The denotation of a dog is (like) a four-legged canine carnivore. Hence saying, “You are a dog” would connote that you were bad rather than denoting you as a canine.

Importance Of Connotation

It is important to note that not all are solely ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ connotations, depending on how a word is used, it can connote different things. Thus, it is one of the most critical things to consider when it comes to word choice, both in literature and everyday conversation. The emotions or meanings associated with words can be everything. While writing or speaking, connotation places a style to clearly express one’s intentions. They can obtain certain emotions or reactions or help to provide distinct impressions of things. Mutually, choosing words with the wrong connotation can produce an undesired reaction or emotion and misrepresent one’s intentions.

Solved Examples

Q1: Give an example to explain the difference between positive and negative connotations.

Answer: Positive connotation: My new neighbour is a mature woman.

Negative connotation: My new neighbour is an elderly woman.

‘Mature’ conveys the connotation of dignified, whereas, ‘elderly’ sounds “old.”

Fun Facts

A stubborn person can be described as being either strong-willed or pig-headed. Though having the same meaning, there lies a difference in placing the words, strong-willed connotes applause for the level of someone’s will, whereas pig-headed connotes adamant behaviour and frustration in dealing with someone. It is often helpful to avoid words with strong connotations when striving to achieve a neutral point of view.