Literature Dictionaries

Denotative Meaning

•Denotative Meaning is the meaning of an symbol that is shared by a group of people. •If you say the word, "dog," most English speakers will point to the same type of animal. •Denotative meaning is what makes symbols work for communication

•Or,
The denotative meaning of a word
is its actual meaning, with no spin on it intended to persuade •
For example,
the actual meaning of the word "propaganda" is "plan for the propagation of a doctrine or of a system of principles." •There's no implication here that such a doctrine or system is either good or bad.


•The word "proof." Its denotative meaning is "evidence that compels acceptance by the mind." •Please note that in this definition, there's still room for doubt in whatever it is that the evidence is supposed to support.

Conotative meaning

•Connotative Meaning is the meaning of a symbol that is personal to an individual and not shared.

Ex:
•
Because
of the word “Propaganda” had been used by the Nazis, "propaganda" is now given its connotative meaning by most people, rather than the denotative. •So it now suggests lies, exploitation, concealment of truth, and other pejorative characteristics or purposes.
•
The word “proof”.
Nowadays,

people generally react to the word not in denotative meaning.•To such people, "proof" means certainty, no room for disagreement, case closed. •
And so when someone
tells them that something has been proved, they tend to accept the statement uncritically and proceed to shut down their thinking mechanism on the subject involved. From that point on, it's a piece of cake to manipulate them.