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54 views2 pages

Connotations

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Connotations

A connotation, a literary device that refers to the selection of a word or


phrase for its suggested meaning instead of its literal one. It is the difference
between referring to an adult as “youthful” versus “childish”: the definition of the
words is the same, but the implied meaning is very different.
Connotation is a feeling or idea that a word has, in addition to its literal or
main meaning (the denotation). Often, a series of words can have the same basic
definitions, but completely different connotations—these are the emotions or
meanings implied by a word, phrase, or thing.
For example, “This clothing is affordable!” versus “This clothing is cheap!”
Here, “affordable” sounds much better than “cheap,” because the word cheap
also implies low quality.
And they are the positive or negative associations that some words have.
For example, the word ‘fat’ can describe a person whose weight is unhealthily
high, but it has a very negative meaning. It’s more polite to call somebody ‘large’
or ‘heavy’. A doctor would probably say ‘overweight’.
Examples of Connotation
Connotation is an additional meaning for a word or phrase; thus, the examples are
endless. As mentioned, many words will share the same literal meaning, but
may connote different feelings or ideas. Below are several examples:
 Stench, smell, aroma, scent, odour
 Strong, tough, sturdy, hard
 Proud, confident, arrogant, egotistical
 Childish, childlike, young, youthful
 Rich, loaded, privileged, wealthy, affluent
 Broke, poor, impoverished
 Frugal, economical, stingy, cheap
 Tempting, attractive, interesting
 Liar, storyteller, fibber
 Independent, unfriendly, private, standoffish
Think of these words used in the similar conversations. For example, imagine the
difference between describing someone as a “strong woman” or a “sturdy
woman”: because of these words’ connotations, the first implies that she is strong
emotionally, while the second implies that she is a sturdy physically. Now, apply
these two terms to a table—a “strong table” and a “sturdy table” have essentially
the same meaning.
Types of Connotations
Most of the examples above can be categorized as having either positive,
negative, or neutral connotation, or sometimes both positive and negative,
depending on how they are used.

a. Positive
A word whose connotation implies positive emotions and associations. For
example, “the aroma of my grandmother’s cooking” produces a positive
association, because the word “aroma” implies that the smell is pleasing and
inviting.

b. Negative
A word whose connotation implies negative emotions and associations. If we
exchange the adjective “aroma” in the above sentence so that it now reads “the
stench of my grandmother’s cooking,” the meaning changes completely. Though
both “aroma” and “stench” mean smell, “stench” has a negative connotation;
thus, the meal sounds much less appealing.

c. Neutral
A word whose connotation is neither positive nor negative. For example, when
speaking about a pet, the word “dog” has a neutral connotation; but, the word
“mutt” has a negative connotation, and the word “purebred” has a positive
connotation.
Importance of Connotation
Most words have two meanings: a denotative (literal) meaning, and a connotative
(implied) meaning. It is important to note that not all connotations are solely
positive or solely negative—depending on how a word is used, it can connote
different things. Thus it is one of the most critical things to consider when it comes
to word choice, in both literature and everyday conversation. In fact, the feelings
or meanings associated with words can be everything. Connotations set
the tone when writing and speaking, and clarify one’s intentions —they can elicit
certain emotions or reactions or help to provide distinct impressions of things.
Conversely, choosing words with the wrong connotation can produce an
undesired reaction or emotion and misrepresent one’s intentions.

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