designate vs denote

designate is an adjective but denote is not an adjective.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
designate	No	Yes	Yes	No
denote	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, denote is a hyponym of designate; that is, denote is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than designate:

Other hyponyms of designate include number, label.

designate (adjective)	denote (adjective)
appointed but not yet installed in office

designate (verb)	denote (verb)
design or destine	have as a meaning
assign a name or title to	be a sign or indication of
decree or designate beforehand	make known; make an announcement
indicate a place, direction, person, or thing; either spatially or figuratively
give an assignment to (a person) to a post, or assign a task to (a person)