What does connote mean?
To connote is to carry a meaning that goes beyond a word's explicit definition. While 'denote' names a word's literal, dictionary sense — 'snake' denoting a legless reptile — 'connote' captures everything the word stirs up alongside that sense: danger, treachery, temptation. The verb is most at home in formal writing about language, literature, psychology, and logic. A literary critic might observe that fog in a Victorian novel connotes moral uncertainty; a semanticist might note that a term connotes the properties shared by everything it applies to. The noun form of the same root, 'connotation', is far more familiar in everyday speech, but the verb remains a precise tool: it attributes the suggestion to the word itself rather than to a speaker who implies something indirectly. Knowing connote helps you talk with accuracy about the invisible cargo words carry.
verbTo connote is to imply or suggest a meaning, quality, or idea in addition to a word's primary or explicit sense.
- (of a word or expression) to suggest or evoke associations, qualities, or ideas in addition to its explicit or literal meaning.
- To involve or imply as a logical consequence or necessary accompaniment.
"The word 'home' connotes warmth and belonging beyond its literal definition of a dwelling place."
"In advertising, black often connotes luxury and sophistication."
"In logic, the term 'triangle' denotes any three-sided figure and connotes the properties common to all such figures."
The difference between 'denote' and 'connote' is the difference between what a word says and what it whispers.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of connote
Connote comes from the Medieval Latin verb 'connotare', formed from the prefix 'con-' (together) plus 'notare' (to mark or note), literally meaning 'to mark along with'. It entered English in the mid-seventeenth century, initially in scholastic and logical contexts describing terms that signify both a primary attribute and secondary ones implied by it. It shares this Latin root 'notare' — itself from 'nota', meaning a mark or sign — with related English words such as 'denote', 'note', 'notation', and 'notion'.
Related word forms
How connote is actually used
Connote is chiefly used in academic, literary-critical, linguistic, and logical contexts. It typically takes the word or symbol doing the suggesting as its subject ('the word connotes X'), rather than a person implying something. It belongs to formal register and is rare in everyday conversation.
Easily confused with connote
Imply describes what a speaker or writer suggests indirectly, while connote describes what a word itself carries as associated meanings beyond its literal sense.
Denote refers to a word's literal or explicit meaning, whereas connote refers to the additional feelings and associations it evokes.