Associative sense refers to the layers of meaning generated in poetry through connections, implications, and suggestions rather than through direct statement. This type of meaning emerges from the reader's associations between words, images, sounds, and contexts, drawing on cultural references, personal experience, and linguistic patterns. Associative sense is fundamental to how poetry communicates, allowing poems to convey complex emotional and intellectual content through indirection. It relies on the reader's active participation in creating meaning from the network of relationships within and around the text.

associative sense|Meaning that arises from connections, memories, or associations rather than literal denotation; useful in symbolist and imagist poetry.