Main Difference
The main difference between Synonym and Connotation is that the Synonym is a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language and Connotation is a cultural or emotional association that some word or phrase carries, in addition to the word’s or phrase’s explicit or literal meaning.
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Synonym
A synonym is a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. For example, the words begin, start, commence, and initiate are all synonyms of one another. Words are typically synonymous in one particular sense: for example, long and extended in the context long time or extended time are synonymous, but long cannot be used in the phrase extended family. Synonyms with the exact same meaning share a seme or denotational sememe, whereas those with inexactly similar meanings share a broader denotational or connotational sememe and thus overlap within a semantic field. The former are sometimes called cognitive synonyms and the latter, near-synonyms.
Some lexicographers claim that no synonyms have exactly the same meaning (in all contexts or social levels of language) because etymology, orthography, phonic qualities, ambiguous meanings, usage, and so on make them unique. Different words that are similar in meaning usually differ for a reason: feline is more formal than cat; long and extended are only synonyms in one usage and not in others (for example, a long arm is not the same as an extended arm). Synonyms are also a source of euphemisms.
Metonymy can sometimes be a form of synonymy: the White House is used as a synonym of the administration in referring to the U.S. executive branch under a specific president. Thus a metonym is a type of synonym, and the word metonym is a hyponym of the word synonym.
The analysis of synonymy, polysemy, hyponymy, and hypernymy is inherent to taxonomy and ontology in the information-science senses of those terms. It has applications in pedagogy and machine learning, because they rely on word-sense disambiguation.
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Connotation
A connotation is a commonly understood cultural or emotional association that some word or phrase carries, in addition to its explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation.
A connotation is frequently described as either positive or negative, with regard to its pleasing or displeasing emotional connection. For example, a stubborn person may be described as being either strong-willed or pig-headed; although these have the same literal meaning (stubborn), strong-willed connotes admiration for the level of someone’s will (a positive connotation), while pig-headed connotes frustration in dealing with someone (a negative connotation).
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Synonym (noun)
A word whose meaning is the same as that of another word.
“equivalent|poecilonym”
“antonym|opposite”
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Synonym (noun)
A word or phrase with a meaning that is the same as, or very similar to, another word or phrase.
““Happy” is a synonym of “glad”.”
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Synonym (noun)
Any of the formal names for a taxon, including the valid name (i.e. the senior synonym).
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Synonym (noun)
Any name for a taxon, usually a validly published, formally accepted one, but often also an unpublished name.
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Synonym (noun)
An alternative (often shorter) name defined for an object in a database.
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Connotation (noun)
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.”
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Connotation (noun)
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).”
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Synonym (noun)
a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language, for example shut is a synonym of close
“‘the East’ was a synonym for the Soviet empire”
“‘shut’ is a synonym of ‘close’”
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Synonym (noun)
a person or thing so closely associated with a particular quality or idea that the mention of their name calls it to mind
“the Victorian age is a synonym for sexual puritanism”
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Synonym (noun)
a taxonomic name which has the same application as another, especially one which has been superseded and is no longer valid.