connotative

[ kon-uh-tey-tiv, kuh-noh-tuh- ]

adjective

1. (of a word or expression) signifying or suggestive of an associative or secondary meaning in addition to the primary meaning:

   His singing voice can best be described by the connotative word “velvet.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of connotative¹

First recorded in 1610–20; from Medieval Latin connotātīvus, equivalent to connotāt(us), past participle of connotāre connote ( def ) + -īvus -ive ( def )

Example Sentences

The connotative meaning, symbolism, and emotional valence of the word "coup" is something much broader: for Americans a "coup" is something that happens in other countries — "over there," not in the world's "greatest democracy."

From Salon

Most intriguingly, a handful of female-led releases hitting theaters throughout the holiday movie season zoom in on characters who source their fortitude in traits that are connotatively feminine.

From Los Angeles Times

This attention to naming names are not inert, names have intense political power names have intense social power and connotative power.

From The New Yorker

“Instead of using words to juxtapose education levels, we used sounds that are connotative of variations in culture and education level.”

From Washington Times

Litspam text, along with early comment spam and the strange spam blogs described in the next section, is the expression of an entirely different intentionality without the connotative structure produced by a human writer.

From Scientific American