What does connotational mean?
"Connotational" is an adjective describing anything that relates to connotation — the layer of associated meanings, emotions, and cultural overtones that a word carries in addition to its explicit definition. Where a word's denotation is what it literally denotes, its connotational content is what it suggests or evokes: calling someone "thrifty" versus "stingy" describes identical behaviour, yet the two words differ sharply in connotational weight. The term belongs primarily to the vocabulary of linguistics, semantics, literary criticism, and rhetoric, where analysts routinely separate a text's denotational from its connotational effects to explain why word choice matters so much in persuasion and style. Derived from the noun "connotation", which entered English in the seventeenth century from Latin roots meaning "to mark along with", it is a precise, somewhat formal word — rarely heard in casual speech, but indispensable whenever the difference between what is said and what is implied needs a name.
adjectiveRelating to or involving the connotations of a word — the associated ideas, feelings, or implications it carries beyond its literal meaning.
- Relating to or involving connotations; concerned with the associations and implications a word carries beyond its literal sense.
"The choice of 'slim' over 'skinny' was a connotational decision as much as a semantic one."
"Linguists distinguish between the denotational and connotational content of a term when analysing persuasive language."
"Her connotational reading of the poem revealed undertones of grief that the literal words never stated."
Swap 'thin' for 'willowy' and you've changed nothing denotationally — but everything connotationally.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of connotational
"Connotational" derives from the noun "connotation", which was formed in English in the early modern period from Latin "con-" (together with) plus "notare" (to mark or note). The underlying Latin verb "notare" gave English a family of related terms including "note", "notation", "denotation", and "connote". As an adjective, "connotational" follows the standard pattern of adding "-al" to an abstract noun of Latin origin.
Related word forms
How connotational is actually used
A technical term used chiefly in linguistics, semantics, literary criticism, and philosophy of language; rare in everyday conversation. It is the adjectival form of 'connotation'.
Easily confused with connotational
'Denotational' concerns a word's explicit, literal meaning, while 'connotational' concerns the secondary associations and emotional overtones a word carries.