Definition of DENOTATION

denotation

Meanings

Plural: denotations

Noun

  • the act of indicating or pointing out by name
  • the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to
  • The act of denoting, or something (such as a symbol) that denotes
  • 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.
  • The intension and extension of a word
  • Something signified or referred to; a particular meaning of a symbol
  • Any mathematical object which describes the meanings of expressions from the languages, formalized in the theory of denotational semantics
  • A first level of analysis: what the audience can visually see on a page. Denotation often refers to something literal, and avoids being a metaphor.

Origin / Etymology

From Late Latin dēnotātiō, from Latin dēnotāre (“to denote, mark out”) + -tiō (suffix forming nouns of action), from dē- (“completely”) + notāre (“to mark”); equivalent to denote + -ation.

Scrabble Score: 11

denotation is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
denotation is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
denotation is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

denotation is a valid Words With Friends word