 The denotation of a word is its direct meaning, or what the word directly represents. For example, the word 'home' refers to the place where you live, a specific place. The connotation of a word refers to the ideas or meanings associated with it, or suggested by it. For example, the word 'home' has a positive connotation; it's associated with comfort, safety, and a sense of belonging. A word's denotation is the same, or about the same, for most people. However, words often have different connotations for different people. For example, the word 'homework' denotes something very specific; work brought home by a student to aid in their learning. The word 'homework', however, can have negative connotations for some students, suggesting unpleasant work when they'd rather be doing something else. It also can have positive connotations for others, as they see it as a way to preactice what they learned. The word connotation is commonly used in the phrases 'positive connotation' and 'negative connotation'. That's because people associate good or bad things with a lot of words. The word 'dentist', for example, denotes a specific person or occupation, wheras for some people it has a negative connotation, suggesting pain and discomfort. The connotation of a word depends on cultural context or personal associations, but the denotation of a word is its standardized meaning. The 'con-' in connotation comes from a Latin term meaning "together" or "with," suggesting that the connotation of a word works with or alongside its explicit meaning - its denotation. A few more examples: "Being a teacher, John is familiar with the aroma of coffee". The word 'aroma' denotes a smell. That's what 'aroma' means. For many people, however, the word has a positive connotation, as a pleasant experience. People generally only use the word 'aroma' here if they enjoy it; otherwise they would just use the word 'smell'. When writing, words with the same meaning can be chosen depending on the connotation you're trying to get across: "Karen's behaviour is in some ways childlike" vs "Marg's behaviour is in some ways childish". Both words denote 'behaving like a child'. However, 'childlike' has a positive connotation, while 'childish' has a negative one. In writing, you can choose a word that has a clear denotation and few connotations - a word like 'tall' or 'quiet' - or you can choose a word that connotes something more, like 'statuesque' or 'tranquil'. |