different between connotation vs complicit

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin connot?ti?, from connot? (“I mark in addition”), from Latin con- (“together, with”) + noto (“I note”); equivalent to connote +? -ation.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?k?n??te???n/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?k?n??te???n/
• Rhymes: -e???n
• Hyphenation: con?no?ta?tion

Noun

connotation (plural connotations)

1. (semantics) A meaning of a word or phrase that is suggested or implied, as opposed to a denotation, or literal meaning. A characteristic of words or phrases, or of the contexts that words and phrases are used in.

   The connotations of the phrase "you are a dog" are that you are physically unattractive or morally reprehensible, not that you are a canine.

2. (logic) The attribute or aggregate of attributes connoted by a term, contrasted with denotation.

   The two expressions "the morning star" and "the evening star" have different connotations but the same denotation (i.e. the planet Venus).

Synonyms

• intension

Antonyms

• denotation

Related terms

• connotate
• connotative
• connote

Translations

Further reading

• John A. Simpson and Edward S. C. Weiner, editors (1989) , “connotation”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ?ISBN

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin connot?ti?, from connot? (“I mark in addition”), from Latin con- (“together, with”) + noto (“I note”); equivalent to connoter +? -ation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k?.n?.ta.sj??/

Noun

connotation f (plural connotations)

1. connotation

English

Etymology

Back-formation from complicity, most likely, which from French complicité, from complice (“partner, accomplice”), from Latin complex, complicem (“partner”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /k?m?pl?s.?t/
• Rhymes: -?s?t

Adjective

complicit (comparative more complicit, superlative most complicit)

1. Associated with or participating in an activity, especially one of a questionable nature.
   • 1973, Angus Wilson, As If by Magic, Secker and Warburg, p. 177:

     "I confess," and the Englishman turned with a near complicit grin to Hamo, "I have certain vulgar tastes myself."

   • 2005, Larry Dennsion, "Letters," Time, 7 March:

     Khan's sale of nuclear secrets and a complicit Pakistani government have made the world a ticking time bomb.

Synonyms

• complicitous

Derived terms

• complicitly

Related terms

• complicity

Translations

References

• “complicit” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.