connotation

noun

Definition of connotationnext
as in implication
an idea or quality that is suggested by a word or thing a word with positive connotations The word "childlike" has connotations of innocence.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of connotation By the 2004 campaign, the vocabulary was everywhere, carrying connotations that nobody had assigned it on purpose. — Andrew Latham, The Conversation, 21 Sep. 2026 But there was no negative connotation behind [doing] the shoot together. — Kirbie Johnson, Allure, 17 Sep. 2026 But, of course, an airport carries fewer negative connotations than Tennessee’s eternally controversial state legislature. — Chris Willman, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026 These positive connotations associated with scientific research help the AI industry signal altruism while downplaying their profit-making ambitions. — Matthew Sun, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for connotation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for connotation
  1. implication
  2. sense
  3. meaning
  4. hint
  5. indication
  6. definition
  7. suggestion
  8. message
Noun
  • Only weeks later, alas, Hurts became another face of the cause — as the NBCA addressed with what essentially was a public-service bulletin about the implications of his situation.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The intellectual property implications are substantial for brands weighing design protection, trade dress and the limits of enforcement when consumers are actively amplifying lookalikes.
    — Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of implication
Noun
  • The tightness of White’s control over his arrangements can occasionally foreclose the sense of chaotic freedom inherent to his more collaborative efforts.
    — Ryan Meehan, Pitchfork, 26 Oct. 2026
  • This approach was meant to counter Vucic's one-man rule and restore a sense of community and solidarity.
    — JOVANA GEC, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of sense
Noun
  • Nighthawks poses a series of questions and references that together offer the viewer traces of meaning.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
  • The thing becomes kind of boring and has lost all meaning to it.
    — Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of meaning
Noun
  • The two remain royals, but growing speculation hints that once Prince William ascends the throne, that might change.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Yet other separatist movements in Canada appear to have taken the hint.
    — Max Saltman, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of hint
Noun
  • Frenzy 6’s upcoming integration work will provide the next indication of how quickly the design can move toward flight.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 30 Oct. 2026
  • No escapee is known to have come from the OGD’s central ranks, an indication of the control imposed on the country’s most influential officials.
    — Jieun Baek, Foreign Affairs, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of indication
Noun
  • There were 96 House seats that fit the modern definition of a swing seat in 1964, according to one count from the 1970s, when the shrinking number of such districts was first noted.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Nevertheless, the statute expressly includes energy production and construction in its definition of national defense.
    — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of definition
Noun
  • Maxey, a first-time All-Star starter last season, had a suggestion to fix the rebounding woes.
    — Dan Gelston, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Vanity Fair met up with the mayoral candidate at The Trails café in Griffith Park (her suggestion), not far from her home in Silver Lake, to learn more.
    — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of suggestion
Noun
  • That the first foreign policy message after the victory went to Moscow, and through a Russian state outlet, says a good deal about where the new government’s instincts lie.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 27 Oct. 2026
  • The allegation was previously investigated The latest allegation concerns an October 2016 New York Times story related to a secret court order that required Yahoo to scan emails for messages potentially linked to a foreign terrorist organization.
    — Eric Tucker, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of message

Browse Nearby Words

connoisseurs
connotation
connotations
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Cite this Entry

“Connotation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/connotation. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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