When we talk about the denotative and literal meaning of a word, we refer to the precise and literal definition of that word, without additional interpretation and without positive or negative associations of that word. These types of meaning are also known as the word's “dictionary definition.” The word “red,” for instance, has a denotation of “a color, being in the range between a moderate orange and russet or bay,” but it also may have different meanings, connotations, or interpretations (i.e. “anger,” “passion” or “violence,”) for some people.
