Below is an article explaining “literal” meaning vs. “popular” meaning. I have been, fruitlessly, trying to defend the literal (denotative) meaning of the word “relational” and this blog is serving notice of my surrender.
When we are Born Again (“Justified,” “adopted,” “sealed by the Holy Spirit onto the day of Redemption,” etc) we become children of God. That is our Relationship with Him. He is our Father, we are His kids. We are powerless to change that “Relationship!”
We, however, can grow distant. As we step out of the light, as we walk outside of Fellowship we grow distant from our Father. He is still our Father! But we are out of “Fellowship” and we need to return to the light (1 John 1:9).
In my effort to distinguish between the one time forgiveness we experience at the Cross (Ephesians 1:7) and the forgiveness we need to restore Fellowship (1 John 1:9); I used the words “relational forgiveness” vs. “fellowship forgiveness;” but given the connotation of relational, I (and, perhaps, you) found it confusing.
So upon the recommendation of an Elder, I am going to refer to our permanent forgiveness as “forensic” and our daily debts or tresspasses as “temporal” – at least those two words don’t have overlap; yet. 🙂
Pastor Scott
Recognizing the denotative and connotative meanings of words can help ensure that you understand exactly what an author is trying to say as well as ensuring that you are saying exactly what you want to say in your own writing.
The denotative meaning is the literal or formal meaning of a word. For instance, the term dog denotes an animal with fur, four legs, and a tail. But when someone calls someone else a dog, this does not mean that the person has four legs and is furry. Instead, the connotative meaning of the word is used, which conjures up ideas based on how it is used in pop-culture or in an overall metaphorical sense. Connotative meanings can be either positive or negative; dog can be a derogatory term meant as an insult, or it can used in a light-hearted way meaning friend.
Unless an author clearly defines how a word or complex term is being used in a reading, both denotative and connotative meanings should be considered. In your own writing, both are acceptable to use, but you must be aware that people may interpret the word differently than you intended if you choose a word that can be read in more than one way.
Because of subtle differences in both denotative and connotative meaning, be very careful when you use a thesaurus as you write. Some of the words listed as synonyms or antonyms cannot be switched out equally. Be sure to use a dictionary to look up the meaning of a word if you are uncertain of what it means in the context of the sentence.
Below are some examples of denotative and connotative meanings of words.
From Website “WordGeeks”
Word Denotative Meaning Connotative Meaning Hot high temperature; heated extremely attractive; angry Cool low temperature popular; acceptable Dead absent of life and/or animation unusually quiet setting Chick young bird girl or woman Crazy insane; mentally unstable wild and exciting Shark predatory fish highly skilled
Grace Notes 