Connotation

A connotation is an idea or feeling that is invoked by something that occurs in addition to its primary or literal meaning. Connotations have implied meanings in addition to their literal meanings.

For example, in literature an author may refer to a cloudy day, but in addition to reporting the weather they are also trying to create a mood of gloom or sadness in their story. A denotation is the precise, specific definition of a word whereas connotations have other ideas or associations along with the literal definition.