Meaning & use
connotative language
Words or expressions chosen for the feelings or ideas they suggest, beyond their literal meaning.
See it in a sentence
Calling the house a shack rather than a cottage uses connotative language to suggest poverty.
Poets often rely on connotative language to evoke emotion rather than state facts directly.
A note on using this word
Connotative language is the opposite of denotative language, which sticks to a word's plain, literal dictionary meaning.
Words with a similar meaning
This term is best learned through its definition and examples.
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
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