denotation
noun
Simple meaning
Something signified or referred to.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dehnohtayshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdɛnoʊˈteɪʃən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
semantics
Something signified or referred to; a particular meaning of a symbol
The act of denoting, or something (such as a symbol) that denotes
logiclinguisticssemiotics
The primary, surface, literal, or explicit meaning of a signifier such as a word, phrase, or symbol; that which a word denotes, as contrasted with its connotation; the aggregate or set of objects of which a word may be predicated.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (semantics) Something signified or referred to; a particular meaning of a symbol
Used this way, denotation is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Related Learning
Guides that use this word in context.
Guides
How to Use Context Clues to Figure Out Unfamiliar Words
A practical guide to spotting definition, contrast, example, and cause-effect clues that reveal a word’s meaning.
Guides
How to Tell If a Word Sounds Rude, Polite, or Neutral
Cheap, inexpensive and affordable can describe the same price and still say different things. A practical guide to connotation: how tone, context and word choice make you sound rude, polite or neutral.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.