What is the difference between denotative and connotative meaning of a word?

The terms “connotation” and “denotation” are sometimes wrongly interchanged because of their close resemblance in terms of sound pronunciation. Nevertheless, the two should be treated differently as they are used distinctively in philosophy, linguistics, and grammar.

Denotation is actually the word’s literal meaning. As such, it is regarded as a “dictionary definition.” Thus, when you look for the word “snake” in the dictionary, you’ll stumble upon its most denotative definition like any reptilian, long, tapering, and often venomous cylindrical animals found in temperate or in tropical areas that is characterized as being legless and scaly.

Connotation is very different because it pertains to the more loose associations to a particular word. It can also include the emotional input that is connected to a certain term or word. The connotative definition or description coexists with its denotative meaning. And so, when you are asked about the connotative meaning of the word “snake,” one of your best answers could be “danger.” Associating “evil” with snakes is also pretty acceptable. Another example is defining a “rose” denotatively as a type of red flower having petals while connotatively as a romantic symbol, or associating it with Valentine’s Day.

One more important characteristic of denotation is its limiting yet more descriptive nature. If you are asked to define what a chair is, you’ll most likely say that it is just your typical piece of furniture that usually has a back part for support when you try to fall back while sitting. It also has a base to sit on and four legs that support the furniture itself. This definition is often true to most cases when you are talking about a standard type of chair.

However, if you are asked about the connotation of the word “chair,” you can talk about it in a variety of ways. One is by giving a positive connotation to it when you walked for several hours and finally found a chair to sit upon. Another way of connotation is a negative impression when you give a negative remark “Stupid chair!” because you tripped over it while you were walking inside the classroom at night when the lights were out.

What is the distinction between connotation and denotation? Good guys sell short! Why selling short is good for the market! Both terms are about meaning, which falls in the realm of semantics. Denotation is just the precise definition of a word. Connotation refers to the variety of associations — perhaps “baggage” — that a word carries. Good dictionaries typically give a sense of both denotation and connotation.

A couple examples:

Rose is a certain type of flower coming in various colors, such as red. But a red rose also has the connotation of love, romance, etc. Sleep has the denotation of a state of (semi)unconscious rest. It can have connotations relating to death, being oblivious (“asleep at the wheel”), and so on. (Note that when animals are “put to sleep” that means they are euthanized and die; you could call this a euphemism, or you could say that sleep has expanded its denotations to literally mean death in that particular phrase.

You can think of denotation at the center of a word’s semantic (meaning) space, and connotation as a cloud of associations surrounding the denotation. The denotation of a word can change over time to expand into that “cloud of connotation” — or expand to formally adopt a former connotation as now being part of the denotation. For example, nurse (and its earlier forms) referred to women who were foster-mothers or wet nurses; eventually, the meaning expanded into nurse in the sense of a person caring for the sick or injured, but still carried the connotation of being a woman’s profession; at this time, nurses may be male or female, so the connotation is changing and has changed for many speakers of English.

Thus you can see that the boundaries between denotation and connotation are not carved in stone — they can and do change with usage and evolve over time. Also, connotation provides a springboard for metaphors, similes, symbolism, and so on.

Connotation and Denotation are both associated with the meaning of a word. Denotation is the literal meaning or the dictionary meaning of a word. Connotation refers to the personal, emotional and cultural associations of that word. This is the main difference between connotation and denotation.

What is Connotation

Connotation refers to the meaning that is implied by the word, rather than its literal meaning. Words are usually associated personal and cultural meanings in addition to their primary, literal meaning. Connotation refers to this personal and cultural association. For example, let’s look at the word heart. The literal meaning of the word implies an organ that pumps blood. But heart connotes love.

We can also see some differences between synonyms due to this concept of connotation. For example, the two words home and house denote the same thing, but home is associated with family, love, comfort and security whereas house is not.

Connotation is often described as being positive and negative. For example, look at the words childish and child-like. Both these mean literary the same. But childish connotes negative qualities whereas childlike connotes more positive qualities like innocence. The same difference can be seen in gullible and naïve.

Look at the words below and try to think of connotations of these synonyms.

Loquacious, Chatty, Garrulous, Talkative

Inquisitive, Convivial, Interested, Curious

Slim, Skinny, Slender, Thin

Relaxed, Laid back, Easy going, Calm

Cheap, Inexpensive, Low-priced, Affordable

Choosing the correct word to suit the context is very important. For example, the two words youthful and juvenile have the same literal meaning, but they have different connotations. Imagine what would happen if we replace the word ‘youthful’ by ‘juvenile’ in the slogan for a face cream. 

Anti-aging cream, for a juvenile appearance

Anti-aging cream, for a youthful appearance

Apple is associated with various concepts such as temptation, sin, lust, knowledge etc.

What is Denotation

Denotation is the primary meaning of a word.  It is the literal meaning, as indicated by dictionaries. The denotation of a word does not carry any hidden implications or cultural and emotional associations. It is the opposite of connotation.

The function of denotation becomes significant in literature when it is contrasted with the connotation of that word. Writers choose very specific diction based on the connotative and denotative meanings of words.

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