Which term refers to the dictionary meaning of a word, as opposed to its attitudinal or cultural associations?

• A. Denotation
• B. Connotation
• C. Reliability
• D. Backwash

Answer: (A)

Think about the way a word can mean more than just its dictionary definition. The dictionary meaning, the exact reference a word points to in formal use, is called denotation. It’s the literal, objective sense you’d find in a dictionary—what the word stands for without any emotional or cultural baggage.

Connotation, in contrast, is all the attitudinal or cultural associations the word carries in different contexts. It’s the subjective shade or feeling the word evokes beyond its formal definition.

Reliability and backwash aren’t about meaning in that sense. Reliability refers to consistency or dependability, and backwash describes after-effects of an event or process, not how a word’s meaning is defined in the dictionary.

So the term that matches the description is denotation.