Example of connotative meaning of a word

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

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.

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

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.

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Asked by: Carmine Luettgen

Score: 4.8/5
(7 votes)

DENOTATION: The direct definition of the word that you find in the dictionary. CONNOTATION: The emotional suggestions of a word, that is not literal.

What are connotative and denotative examples?

What is the connotative meaning?

1a : something suggested by a word or thing : implication the connotations of comfort that surrounded that old chair. b : the suggesting of a meaning by a word apart from the thing it explicitly names or describes. 2 : the signification of something …

What is the meaning of Denotative meaning?

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. — Nardine Saad. 3a : a denoting term : name.

What is an example of connotative?

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.

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