The connotations a word carries may be different for different people, depending on a wide variety of factors, including their life experiences, where they live, and when. But what "swan" connotes is grace, beauty, love, and purity. The word "swan," for example, denotes a swan. DenotationĬonnotation is commonly defined in contrast to denotation, a literary term that refers to the "dictionary definition," or the explicit and literal definition of a word or phrase. These associations are the connotations the word carries, and they're separate from the literal meaning of the word, which is known as its denotation. This "hidden" layer of meaning includes the array of emotions, cultural associations, and ideas that a given word invokes whenever it's used-all of which is determined by the history and context of the word's usage.įor example, the word "Hollywood" refers to a specific area in the city of Los Angeles, but the word is used so often as a metonym for the American film industry as a whole that it has come to evoke ideas of glamor, artifice, and fame.
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Here's how to pronounce connotation: kon-oh- tay-shun Connotation ExplainedĮvery word has a literal definition that you can look up in the dictionary, but most of the words people use on a daily basis carry associations that aren't written down as part of their strict definition. Connotation is vital to the arts, but is also extremely useful in business, advertising, and politics. Writers may use connotation to evoke specific emotions in their readers without explicitly telling them what to feel.In other words, connotation is deeply dependent on context. The connotations a word carries are often subjective, meaning that they might change depending on an individual's experience, geographical location, or time period.Connotation is an important aspect of diction, a term that refers to the choice and usage of words by writers.
For instance, the word "peace" has a positive connotation, "coffin" has a negative one, and "table" is neutral.