CONNOTATION

CONNOTATION, DENOTATION, AND
IMPLICATION
Connotation and Denotation are two principal methods of

describing the meanings of words. Connotation refers to the wide array of positive and negative
associations that most words naturally carry with them, whereas denotation is the precise, literal
definition of a word that might be found in a dictionary. Cars of the 1960’s Thunderbird, Falcon,
Charger, Comet, Mustang, Barracuda. Cars of the 1970’s Rabbit, Pinto, Colt, Civic, Starlet,
Gremlin. Introduce the idea of connotation, defining it as the associations that people make with
a word. You can contrast connotation with the denotative value of a word, its more literal
meaning, and give an example of a word (such as "chicken") Connotation is the emotional and
imaginative association surrounding a word. Denotation is the strict dictionary meaning of a
word. Visiting Seema Srivastava’s Argumentative Writing class recently, I witnessed a very
useful exercise for teaching students the difference between connotation and denotation. Under
the rubric of teaching students about Pathos, or appeal to emotion, in the Aristotelian
Pathos/Ethos/Logos triangle, she briefly described denotation as the literal meaning and
connotation as the emotional weight of a word, comparing cheap to inexpensive as an example.
Connotation and Denotation Connotation and denotation are not two separate things/signs. They
are two aspects elements of a sign, and the connotative meanings of a word exist together with
the denotative meanings.Connotation represents the various social overtones, cultural
implications, or emotional meanings associated with a sign. Denotation represents the explicit or
referential meaning of a sign. Denotation refers to the literal meaning of a word, the ‘dictionary
definition.’
For example, the name ‘Hollywood’ connotes such things as glitz, glamour, tinsel, celebrity, and
dreams of stardom. In the same time, the name ‘Hollywood’ denotes an area of Los Angeles,
worldwide known as the center of the American movie industry. Diction, an element of style,
refers to the words writers use to express ideas. Words convey more than exact, literal meanings,
in which case they "connote" or suggest additional meanings and values not expressed in general
dictionary definitions. Words that "denote" a core meaning are those that are generally used and
understood by the users and the audience to represent an object or class of objects, an act, a
quality, or an idea. However, because of usage over time, words that denote approximately the
same thing may acquire additional meanings, or connotations, that are either positive
(meliorative ) or negative (pejorative ).
Conotation and Implication

A connotation can just be an idea that we associate with another word, phrase or sentence.
So for example the phrase bucket and spade will have connotations of beaches, sunshine,
childhood, seaside holidays and so forth. If you're writer and you want to talk about a grave-
robber stealing a body from a cemetery, you probably won't want to say:
He picked up his bucket and spade.

There's nothing wrong with the grammar of this sentence, but when you say bucket and spade it
might make people think about happy things, not grave, serious and scary ones. It's probably
important for your story for people to be a little bit scared, not happy and comfortable. Notice
that nobody would think that the grave-robber was at the beach in that sentence. It is just that
using that phrase will make people think about beaches for a second.
An implication is something slightly different. If I imply something, I am saying something
specific to somebody, without actually using that sentence (this might be an accident. We might
not want the listener to have this idea). Usually, an implication is a proposition - something that
can be expressed as a sentence. So for example, if I say:
 If you don't do your homework, you won't get any ice cream.
then I am implying that:
 If you do your homework you will get some ice-cream.
But notice that I did not say that. That second sentence is not part of what I said. If I am a mean
and horrible person, I may have deliberately tricked you. But I did not lie. The truth may well be
that:
 If you don't do your homework you won't get any ice-cream and if you do do your homework,
you still won't get any ice-cream.
The reason might be for example, that you are not allowed ice-cream because you're allergic to
dairy products. Notice that if I say the whole of the last example, the implication is cancelled.
We no longer think that the speaker will give any ice-cream to anyone if the homework is done.
We can cancel implications easily. It is difficult to cancel connotations. We may still be
reminded of something, like holidays, for example, even if the actual word or phrase is being
used in a completely different way.
Conclusion
In the normal uses of these words, a connotation is an association that we have with a word,
phrase or sentence. It is not necessarily a proposition. It is not usually the kind of idea we can
express in a sentence. In contrast, an implication is usually a proposition. It is an idea we could
express as a sentence. Sometimes the listener may want us to understand this proposition.
Sometimes it may be accidental. We can cancel implications. It is difficult, if not impossible
sometimes, to cancel connotations
Definition of Synonym
Synonym is the state or phenomenon in which the words that sound different ( different in
pronunciation ) but have the same or identical meaning as another word or phrase.Synonyms
can be nouns, verbs, adverbs or adjectives, as long as both are the same part of speech.
Examples :
Definition of Antonym
Antonym is the state or phenomenon in which the words have the sense relation which
involve the opposite meaning.
Antonym can be divided into several types:
1. Implicitly gradable pairs.
E.g : Big – Small

Good – Bad
Fast – Slow
2. Complementary pairs
E.g : Male – Female

Alive – Death
Present – Absent
3. 3. Relational pairs
E.g : Buy – Sell
Push – Pull
Definition of Hyponym
In linguistics, a hyponym is a specific term used to designate a member of a broader class.

For instance, daisy and rose are hyponyms of flower. Also called a subtype or a subordinate
term.
Adjective: hyponymic.
Examples :
 Dog is a hyponym of animal

 Rose is a hyponym of flower
 White is a hyponym of color

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CONNOTATION, DENOTATION, AND

Connotation and Denotation are two principal methods of

Conotation and Implication

He picked up his bucket and spade.

Antonym can be divided into several types:

1. Implicitly gradable pairs.

E.g : Big – Small

E.g : Male – Female

In linguistics, a hyponym is a specific term used to designate a member of a broader class.

 Dog is a hyponym of animal

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