From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishconnotationcon‧no‧ta‧tion /ˌkɒnəˈteɪʃən $ ˌkɑː-/ ●○○ noun [countable] THINK something/HAVE A THOUGHTa quality or an idea that a word makes you think of that is more than its basic meaning → denotationconnotation of The word ‘professional’ has connotations of skill and excellence. a negative connotation —connotative /ˈkɒnəteɪtɪv $ ˈkɑːn-, kəˈnoʊtətɪv/ adjective
Examples from the Corpus
connotation• But thinness, as opposed to slimness, also carries connotations of weightlessness and emptiness.• "Bermuda" with its connotations of fun and sun• Its connotations are all wrong and will be studied later.• A whole group of connotations, arising from our knowledge of the drug culture, then settles on the music.• For most people "motherhood" has a very positive connotation.• The portrait is an endlessly interesting example, a theme redolent with social connotations and artistic references.• Care must be exercised however as certain colours have specific connotations which may be important if colour codes are used.• With time, however, this acquired the connotation of the misfortune it described.• I spoke, in that context, of the connotations of the posse, of the hunt.• Literacy will continue to depend upon the power to decipher words and to decode their connotations. 