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connotation

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Definition of connotation

noun

  • an idea or feeling which a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning:the word ‘discipline’ has unhappy connotations of punishment and repression [mass noun]:the work functions both by analogy and by connotation
  • Philosophy the abstract meaning or intension of a term, which forms a principle determining which objects or concepts it applies to. Often contrasted with denotation.

Origin:

mid 16th century: from medieval Latin connotatio(n-), from connotare 'mark in addition' (see connote)

connotation in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of connotation in the US English dictionary
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