Connotation and Denotation-meanings

Connotation:
• the abstract meaning or intension of a term, which forms a principle determining which objects or concepts it applies to.

Denotation:
• the object or concept to which a term refers, or the set of objects of which a predicate is true. Often contrasted with connotation .

So basically Denotation is what the audience actually see, and Connotation is what it signifies.


Connotation and denotation are not two separate things/signs. They are two aspects/ 
elements of a sign, and the connotative meanings of a word exist together with 
the denotative meanings]. 
− Connotation represents the various social overtones, cultural implications, or emotional 
meanings associated with a sign. 
− Denotation represents the explicit or referential meaning of a sign. Denotation 
refers to the literal meaning of a word, the ‘dictionary definition.’ 
For example, the name ‘Hollywood’ connotes such things as glitz, glamour, tinsel, 
celebrity, and dreams of stardom. In the same time, the name ‘Hollywood’ denotes an 
area of Los Angeles, worldwide known as the center of the American movie industry.