Comes from Latin “denotationem,” meaning “indication.”
The denotation of a word is its literal definition—its dictionary definition—and contains no emotion.
This is in contrast to connotation, which is the subjective or associated meaning of a word.
Every word has a denotation. No matter the language or part of speech, every word has a dictionary definition.
Denotation is objective. Connotative meaning can change, but the denotative meaning does not. You understand the connotation of a word depending on your background. For example, two people may ascribe different connotations to the word “mother” depending on their life experiences. The dictionary definition of a word will always be the same for everybody, no matter what.
Multiple words can denote the same thing. Sometimes, similar words have the same dictionary definition. For example, the words “trash” and “garbage” denote the same discarded rubbish.
Denotation isn’t always neutral. Connotation can add a positive or negative spin to a word’s denotation, but the dictionary definition of a word can be positive or negative on its own. For example, the definition of the word “smirk” is a smug and offensive smile, which is inherently negative.
Examples of Denotation in Literature
Novelists use denotation when they need to be explicitly clear about what they’re talking about.
In Moby Dick (1851) Herman Melville refers to Moby Dick both by its denotative name—the “white whale”—and the name given to the animal. “Aside from those more obvious considerations touching Moby Dick...It was the whiteness of the whale that above all things appalled me.”
Works of philosophy like Aristotle’s The Nicomachean Ethics rely on the denotative meaning of words to better explain philosophical concepts and principles. In this work, Aristotle writes very literally about the contemplation of the human mind, saying that “contemplation is both the highest form of activity.”
Difference between Denotation & Connotation
Denotation is a contrast to connotation, which is the associated meaning of a word.
A connotation is a feeling of emotion that a word carries which affects how readers understand its use. For example, the words “liar” and “storyteller” have the same denotations, but “liar” has a negative connotation while “storyteller” has a positive connotation.
Authors use denotation when they need to clearly convey the explicit meaning of a word. Otherwise, they’re more likely to use connotation.
Denotation is straightforward, but it can be restricting. If an entire novel uses the denotative meanings of words, it would be dull. Connotation allows for more creativity, details, character development, and worldbuilding.
Connotation and denotation work hand in hand in literature; when readers understand the denotative meanings of words, they can grasp connotative meanings as well.
"The truth is not simply that words originally innocent tend to acquire a bad sense. The truth is that words originally descriptive tend to become terms either of mere praise or of mere blame.
The vocabulary of flattery and insult is continually enlarged at the expense of the vocabulary of definition. As old horses go to the knacker's yard, or old ships to the breakers, so words in their last decay go to swell the enormous list of synonyms for good and bad.
This process is going on very rapidly at the moment. The words 'abstract' and 'concrete' were first coined to express a distinction which is really necessary to thought: but it is only for the very highly educated that they still do so.
In popular language 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦 now means something like "clearly defined and practicable"; it has become a term of praise.
𝘈𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 means "vague, shadowy, unsubstantial"; it has become a term of reproach.
𝘔𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯, in the mouths of many speakers, has ceased to be a chronological term ; it has "sunk into a good sense" and often means little more than "efficient" or in some contexts "kind" ;
𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 can no longer be used in its proper sense without explanation.
𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 is a mere term of approval;
To save any word from the eulogistic and dyslogistic abyss is a task worth the efforts of all who love the English language. And I can think of one word—the word 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯—which is at this moment on the brink.
That is always the trouble about allowing words to slip into the abyss. Once turn 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘦 into a mere insult, and you need a new word (pig) when you want to talk about the animal. Once let 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘮 dwindle into a useless synonym for cruelty, and what do you do when you have to refer to the highly special perversion which actually afflicted M. de Sade?
It is important to notice that the danger to the word "Christian" comes not from its open enemies, but from its friends.
It was not egalitarians, it was officious admirers of gentility, who killed the word 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯. The other day I had occasion to say that certain people were not Christians; a critic asked how I dared say so, being unable (as of course I am) to read their hearts. I had used the word to mean "persons who profess belief in the specific doctrines of Christianity"; my critic wanted me to use it in what he would (rightly) call "a far deeper sense"—a sense so deep that no human observer can tell to whom it applies.
And is that deeper sense not more important? It is indeed ; just as it was more important to be a "real" gentleman than to have coat-armour. But the most important sense of a word is not always the most useful. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝'𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?
And when, however reverently, you have killed a word you have also, as far as in you lay, blotted from the human mind the thing that word originally stood for.
How do all of you tell the difference between romantic and platonic relationships?
The actual definitions of the two words aren't helpful. Because a quick summary of the denotation of platonic is "intimate and affectionate without sex, like in a close friendship" and the definition of romantic is basically that it means love. But like... Platonic love is a thing? So, obviously the dictionary has failed me, since it lacks nuance, and I need some connotative definitions for this shit.
No one in my personal life has been able to help me. Most of them just go "romantic relationships have sex, platonic means friends" and I know that isn't always true, so... No.
Understanding that words have denotations and connotations, and that you have a different emotional attachment to a word than someone else, and why... All these can really flip your perspective around.
How valuable do you consider social sciences? (Not to be confused with humanties)
Where do you think the term soft science originally came from?
Please be mindful & respectful of others. The goal is not to change someone else's opinion, or alter their point of view. This rhetoric serves as a vehicle for self exploration. Challenge yourself to see it from their perspective in order to better understand yourself. Raise words not your voice. As always- stay informed, stay involved~
