Meanings
comparative more denotative · superlative most denotative
- That denotes or names; designative.
There was still no concept of language (arithmetical symbolism, perhaps, is not a language, is not denotative in the same sense as words).
1989, Oliver Sacks, Seeing Voices: A Journey into the World of the Deaf - Specific to the primary meaning of a term.
Antonyms: connotative
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveSpecific to the primary meaning of a term.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivehaving the power of explicitly denoting or designating or naming
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From Latin dēnotātus + -ive. By surface analysis, denote + -ative.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan denotatiu
- denotatiuthat denotes or names
French dénotatif
- dénotatifthat denotes or names
Italian denotativo
- denotativothat denotes or names
Spanish denotativo
- denotativothat denotes or names
Swedish denotativ
- denotativthat denotes or names
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
denotative. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/denotative
“denotative.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/denotative. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “denotative,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/denotative.
Source: denotative on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.