Denotation is the part of meaning of a word or phrase that relates it to the phenomena in the real world or in a fictional or possible world. Connotation refers to the additional meanings that a word or phrase has beyond its central meaning (denotation). These meanings show people’s attitude or emotions. In the example “The man is a rat.”, what are the denotation and connotation of “rat”respectively? 1. an animal that looks like a large mouse with a long tail