English

Noun

connotation ‎(plural connotations)

1. (semantics) A meaning of a word or phrase that is suggested or implied, as opposed to a denotation, or literal meaning. A characteristic of words or phrases, or of the contexts that words and phrases are used in.

   The connotations of the phrase "you are a dog" are that you are physically unattractive or morally reprehensible, not that you are a canine.

2. (logic) A technical term in logic used by J. S. Mill and later logicians to refer to the attribute or aggregate of attributes connoted by a term, and contrasted with denotation.

   The two expressions "the morning star" and "the evening star" have different connotations but the same denotation (i.e. the planet Venus).

Antonyms

• denotation

Synonyms

• intension

Related terms

• connotative
• connotatively

Translations

References

• J[ohn] A. Simpson and E[dward] S. C. Weiner, editors (1989) The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ISBN 978-0-19-861186-8.