1
as in moniker
a word or combination of words by which a person or thing is regularly known
"soul" is the common denotation for that mysterious force within the human body that gives it life and yet is separate from it
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in meaning
the idea that is conveyed or intended to be conveyed to the mind by language, symbol, or action
although most people exercise for fitness, the denotation of the term "fitness" varies from exerciser to exerciser
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Recent Examples of denotation
Controlled denotations were conducted Sunday at the site to dispose of hazardous materials, the agency said.
—
Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2025
How much control, at this point, the subcommittee can exert over emoji denotation and connotation isn’t clear.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 29 June 2025
But the New Zealand Department of Conservation lists the reptiles as at risk — relict, a denotation reserved for species that declined to a small population but have since stabilized.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 22 July 2024
Language, unlike code, has connotations and denotations that make organizing it for human consumption a much more complex task, says Dr. Harbin.
—Leonardo Bevilacqua, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2024
What does 4/20 mean? April 20, or 4/20 in its calendar denotation, is a holiday celebrated by many weed-smokers both in the United States and around the globe.
—Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2023
Cleverly staging appearance as disappearance, connotation serves as denotation.
—Jerrine Tan, Wired, 4 Aug. 2022
Deaths are included if a person has a positive COVID-19 test and a death certificate denotation, a record of symptoms consistent with COVID-19 that progress from illness to death, or a determination by the medical examiner’s office that there is no other cause of death, Trimble said.
—Dallas News, 5 Aug. 2020
Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2025
How much control, at this point, the subcommittee can exert over emoji denotation and connotation isn’t clear.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 29 June 2025
But the New Zealand Department of Conservation lists the reptiles as at risk — relict, a denotation reserved for species that declined to a small population but have since stabilized.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 22 July 2024
Language, unlike code, has connotations and denotations that make organizing it for human consumption a much more complex task, says Dr. Harbin.
—Leonardo Bevilacqua, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2024
What does 4/20 mean? April 20, or 4/20 in its calendar denotation, is a holiday celebrated by many weed-smokers both in the United States and around the globe.
—Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2023
Cleverly staging appearance as disappearance, connotation serves as denotation.
—Jerrine Tan, Wired, 4 Aug. 2022
Deaths are included if a person has a positive COVID-19 test and a death certificate denotation, a record of symptoms consistent with COVID-19 that progress from illness to death, or a determination by the medical examiner’s office that there is no other cause of death, Trimble said.
—Dallas News, 5 Aug. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for denotation
Noun
-
The Disney moniker has more brand value and name recognition with consumers around the world than any other Hollywood brand.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Lamont—who has also taught at Harvard, Yale and Princeton, and blogs for Acadian under the moniker Owenomics—dialed back to some of the financial history classics to make his point.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Mike begins to struggle with the idea of doing something that might finally give his life (and his death) meaning, and although the film goes in absurd directions, Gavras sells it by pitching everything at the level of epic satire, his grandiose images working in tandem with moments of broad humor.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Lights, camera, action take on a different meaning with this long-running film festival, now in its 54th year.—
Karu F. Daniels,
New York Daily News,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Despite its nomenclature, Tesla’s current system called Full Self-Driving (Supervised), or FSD, is not fully autonomous.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
5 Feb. 2026
-
So this whole nomenclature is BS, right?—
Maya Singer,
Vogue,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In that sense, the film answers its own question.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
31 Jan. 2026
-
To get a better sense of that, CBS News Bay Area spoke with Arkesha Baquet, co-owner of Li'l Dizzy's Café in New Orleans, home of Super Bowl LIX.—
Max Darrow,
CBS News,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The tour is focused on getting the top names to play together more often, and reducing the number of events is one way to do that.—
Kirk Kenney,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Saman, who asked ABC News not to use his full name for fear of his safety, was in Rasht -- the largest city on Iran's Caspian Sea coast -- when the major protests formed.—
Somayeh Malekian,
ABC News,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The Heat are muddling along with a roster that isn’t good enough to do anything of significance, have no young player with obvious star upside, can’t create significant cap room for at least two more years and owe a future pick to the Hornets from the disastrous Terry Rozier trade.—
Nick Friedell,
New York Times,
31 Jan. 2026
-
February marks Black History Month, a time to examine historic monuments in Dallas that still hold significance for the city's African-American community.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Santa Clara, California — Mike Vrabel made his nnname in the NFL as a crunching outside linebacker, delivering punishment to opposing offenses and blowing up their plays on his way to winning multiple Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Starmer said that the government was working on legislation to remove the noble title, Lord Mandelson, that the ex-ambassador still holds.—
JILL LAWLESS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Those stars with higher metal contents live longer and burn cooler in general, but only slightly, and in a way that’s much more impactful for higher mass stars than lower-mass stars.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
6 Feb. 2026
-
In almost all cases, athletes are also wearing some version of team gear in their content rather than any brand that might be sponsoring them outside the Olympic context.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Denotation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/denotation. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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