Denote — Meaning, Definition, & Examples | SAT Vocabulary
Got ourselves an easy one today, folks. But test-takers are reporting that it appeared on the September SAT, so let's make sure we know it.
📣 TL;DR: Denote means to indicate, signify, or be a sign of something. Mnemonic to help remember: DENOTE is like “da note” that indicates something specific.
ℹ️ Part of Speech of Denote
denote is a VERB.
🗣️ Pronunciation of Denote
IPA: /dɪˈnoʊt/ (See IPA key)
Respelling: dih-NOTE
📚️ Definition of Denote
To indicate, signify, or be a sign of something; to mean or refer to explicitly. Example: traffic lights that denote whether to stop or go.
📰 Examples of Denote
Here are some examples of the word denote:
The skull and crossbones typically denotes danger (or pirates), so maybe don’t drink from that bottle.
An ellipsis is often used in writing to denote a pause.
✍️ Quiz Yourself
Which of the following would most accurately be described as something that denotes?
A) Milk that has turned.
B) A stanza.
C) A quiver.
D) An emoticon (which preceded emoji).
I will post the answer in the comments after some time has passed.
Thanks for reading. Was this one too easy? Let me know in the comments, if you can.
Emoticons are used to denote emotions, and they came into use before emoji.
Who remembers these?
:) The first one I remember.
:-) A little fancier.
=) People started playing around with the defaults.
Now we use emoji 😊 instead, which are part of character sets, so we don't have to think or be creative anymore.
The best answer is D.
Most people got this correct!
However, a bunch of people chose A. So I'm here to tell you that milk that has turned is just spoiled (spoilt?) milk. It doesn't really denote anything.
If you missed the quiz, this is it:
Which of the following would most accurately be described as something that denotes?
A) Milk that has turned.
B) A stanza.
C) A quiver.
D) An emoticon (which preceded emoji).