Denotation is the literal meaning of a word, for example, ‘cheetah’ is the name given to a spotted wild cat found in Africa, and that can run fast. It is the definition you will find in a dictionary

Connotation refers to what a word is generally associated with, for example, a cheetah may be associated with speed and an African natural environment. Connotation carries emotional and imaginative meaning and may be positive or negative.

Another example – the definition or denotation of the word home is the place where you live. The connotations of the word are generally the feeling of safety, of refuge, of comfort.

So a drug addict may be called a druggie (negative) or a substance abuser (more positive).
A thin person may be called anorexic (negative) or slender (positive).
A handicapped person may be called crippled (negative) or differently abled (positive).

Nearly all words have both denotative (literal) and connotative (associated) meanings.

You have to look at the word in context to get the connotations of the word. For example, ‘grease’, associated with a car engine, is neutral – engines need grease to run. But ‘grease’ associated with people or food is negative – greasy (dirty) hair or greasy (unhealthy) food, for example.

In literary texts, writers use the connotative meanings of words to make their writing more interesting. For example, this is the start of a poem called ‘No means no’, by Hector Bululu, in a poem on FunDza:

Oh, I’m so ashamed to even
Call you a man
You shouldn’t be called a man
You less … of a man

The poet expects the reader to understand that the word ‘man’ means more than a male human – it carries associated meanings, too – a ‘man’ is a good, brave, kind human.

We often don’t think about the connotations of words – it happens subconsciously, and we are not aware of it. But they are very powerful, and advertisers know this. Together with interesting, appealing, entertaining, surprising or even shocking images (pictures), advertisers use words with emotional associations to persuade people to buy products or services. For example, advertisements often contain words such as ‘respect’, ‘freedom’, ‘imagine’, ‘dream’, ‘classic’, ‘priceless’ – all of which have positive connotations.

In factual texts, such as news reports, historical accounts, instructions, technical or scientific report, etc., we can expect to find more words that are neutral.

Writers need to understand both the denotations and the connotations of the words they use. For example if a writer describes someone’s behaviour as ‘childish’, this is a very negative word – the writer is being critical of the behaviour. A more positive way to describe the behaviour may be ‘youthful’ – this sounds like the writer is celebrating the person’s young energetic spirit. So writers need to be clear about the connotations of words they use and the effect they will have on the reader.

Understanding the difference between connotation and denotation and being aware of the connotation of words in different contexts will make you a more skilled, critical and interesting reader, writer and listener.