Connote and denote are a confusing pair. Both words mean the same: to signify but there is a significant difference between them.
Denote is “to mean or to indicate the explicit” or “to signify directly”;
Connote is “to convey indirectly” or “to mean or indicate the inexplicit.”
Any word denotes its primary meaning; it connotes attributes associated with the broad primary meaning. The word money denotes wealth, and to most of us it connotes travel, clothes, cars, and good times.