To denote is to say something directly or literally. For example, when poet Wallace Stevens writes, “My candle burned alone in an immense valley,” this line denotes just what it says—that the speaker of the poem had a candle burning alone in an immense valley (which of course would be a ridiculously restrictive reading of the poem).
Denote is rarely used incorrectly. These writers use it well:
My new companion Baccouch—the name denotes someone who’s mute—had unsettling body odour and an innocent, if occasionally unco-operative, temperament. [Independent]
The word “trial” must be used in quote marks to denote the absurdity of the proceedings at Moscow’s Khamovnichesky Court. [Wall Street Journal]
Even more radical was Mr. Vignelli’s use of gray, not green, to denote Central Park, and beige, not blue, to shade New York’s storied waterways. [NY Times]
To connote is to suggest or imply in addition to a literal meaning. For example, with regard to the above Wallace Stevens quote, the connotations of that statement are all the potential poetic meanings—the metaphorical possibilities of the line.
Connote is often used incorrectly—for example:
“Whereas smuggling connotes illegal activity carried out clandestinely . . .” [quoted in The Jerusalem Post]
Smuggling is by definition illegal and thus denotes illegality. Another example:
A jumpstart connotes a boost of power received from some more powerful engine . . .
That’s exactly what jumpstart literally signifies, so connotes should be replaced with denotes.
Here are two examples of connote used well:
In the context of a supervisory relationship, advocacy of discriminatory ideas can connote an implicit threat of discriminatory treatment and could therefore amount to intentional discrimination. [Huffington Post]
[T]he words “women’s writing” connote not simply a literature made by women but one that arises out of, and is shaped by, a set of specifically female conditions. [Guardian]
