 Context clues

0 Identifying Contextual Definitions

1 Recognizing Restatements and Examples as Context Clues
2 Identifying synonyms and antonyms in context
3 Using context clues

 Vocabulary development
 Context clues
 Text clues
Context clues
Identifying contextual definition
 Enable the readers to identify unfamiliar words through inferences provided by the verbal text
 Allow the reader to read with little loss of fluency and a minimum frustration
Example:
Unemployment was very high during the depression of the 1930s
Depression sometimes refers to sadness and dejection, but in this context depression refers to ‘a
period of economic decline’.
 Words unfamiliar to you may often have meanings stated in or suggested by context. To use
context to locate or infer word meaning you will have les need to use a dictionary when you
read.
Recognizing Restatements and Examples as Context Clues
Text clues
Stated Meaning – the meaning of a word is stated in context.
 Synonyms: words which have the same meaning as the unknown word in a given
sentence. There may be signals which identify the presence of synonym. They are: “or, that
is, called, as well as, commas (,), dashes (-), and colours”.
 After seeing the picture of the starving children, we felt compassion or pity for their
suffering.
 In New Orleans, people drink a strong coffee served in demitasse or half size cups
 Punctuation mark signal words: , commas, ‘appositive, ( ) parentheses,
---- dashes , ; semicolon : colon
 Fluoroscopy, examination with a fluoroscope, has become a common practice.
 The dudeen – a short-stemmed clay pipe – is found in Irish folk tales
 Antonyms: words which have the opposite meaning of the unknown words in a given
sentence. Signals which identify the presence of antonym are: “instead, although, but, yet,
and however”.
 Bill was thin but his brother was obese  thin x obese = fat
 Dad gave credence to my story, but mom’s reaction was one of total disbelief
 Definition clues: The meaning of the unfamiliar word may be found in the same sentence
or passage. Definitions may be indicated by these signals: “is called, which is, means,
commas (,), dashes (-), parentheses ().”
 A thermometer, an instrument used to measure temperature, is useful.
 Your receptive vocabulary is the words you know when you read or listen
 The masterpieces of great painters stimulate the tactile sense, or sense of touch; they
may appear to be rough, slippery, or soft.
 When you write papers for your college courses, take care that you do not plagiarize –
present the words or ideas of others as though they are your own
 Visual
 Example: "such as," "including," "for instance" , "for example." like, for instance, is / are.
 Many animals have mottled coast, such as the leopard, the ocelot, and the giraffe.
 Some animals are omnivores. Bears, for instance, eat whatever meat or plants they
can find.
 Comparison signal words: Like(wise, also identical, resembling, as, in the same way,
similar to, related, similarly
 My brother is enthralled by birds similar to the way that I am fascinated by insects.
 His hypothesis was that the thatch in the roof was as likely to burn as any other
straw.
 Cause & effect: signal words  SIGNAL WORDS FOR “CAUSE”
Because, bring about, contributed to, due to, the reason for, give rise to, led to, on account
of, created by, since, given that, while, as, whereas, as a result of. SIGNAL WORDS FOR
“EFFECT”
 As a result, consequently, hence, so, therefore, for this reason, outcome, finally, then,
effect, thus, after, accordingly, subsequently
 Because Aminah was a negligent babysitter, his younger brother wandered off and fell
into the river.
 The horse was so fatigued that he collapsed before he finished.
Implied Meaning: - the meaning of a word is not stated in context, it may be implied.
 Experience clues: the meaning of the unfamiliar word is obtained through the readers’
experimental background.
 The ground was shaking and the buildings were falling. It was an earthquake.
 Summary: an unknown word summarizes an idea that precedes or follows it. Reader
refers to the idea in order to obtain the meaning of unknown word.
 The room was completely disheveled. Chairs were overturned and pillows were thrown
on the floor.
 Those who enjoy belonging to clubs, going to parties, and inviting friends to their homes
for dinner are gregarious.
 Murderers are usually incarcerated for longer period of time than robbers are.

STATED MEANINGS
A. Underline the meanings of the boldface words stated in the contexts of the following
sentences.
1. Some people are gullible—easily cheated or tricked because they believe everything
that others say.
2. Erika does many things well; she is an extremely versatile young woman.
3. Those who want careers as actors must be tenacious—persistent and stubbornly
determined to succeed.
4. Study for tests by reciting to yourself; it is futile (useless or ineffective) to try to learn
information by reading it over and over.
5. Some shoppers forgive, or overlook, poor service in stores, but others do not
condone it.
6. He is confident that his rudeness will not impede (hinder) his success at work.
 7. Please obliterate, or erase, from your mind all worry that you may fail.
8. If I say, "Please call me Jim," it is explicit (or clearly stated) that I want you to call
me Jim.
9. When the going gets tough, the tough get going; they continue in spite of difficulty—
they persevere.
10.I perceive that you are displeased with me; I am very much aware that I have made
you unhappy for some reason.
11.The notion that it is sophisticated to smoke is passe—it's as old fashioned and out-
of-date as greasy hair.
12. However, if I introduce myself to you as "Jim," it is implicit—suggested, though not
directly stated—that I want you to call me "Jim”.
13.Standard desk dictionaries are comprehensive, or all inclusive, lists of commonly
used words and their meanings.
14.Our thoughts are covert—concealed, or hidden from others—until we share them.
15.Those who have contempt for others often have a total lack of respect for themselves
as well.
16.The doctor’s prognosis (prediction about recovery) is that Luis will be strong enough
to return to work in two weeks.

B. Underline the meanings of the boldface words that are stated in the following excerpts
from English, business, and sociology textbooks.
1. The most familiar use of words is to name things—trees, cars, games, people, stars,
oceans. When words are used in this way, the things they refer to are called their
denotations. The word chair most commonly denotes a piece of furniture for sitting
on. The denotation of Detroit is the city of that name.
2. But words acquire connotations as well as denotations. Connotations are attitudes
that we associate with particular words. When we call an action "courageous" or
"foolhardy," we are not only describing it; we are expressing, and inviting a reader to
share, an attitude toward it.
3. The writing is almost completely subjective—that is, it deals chiefly with how the
writer feels about the movie.
4. A fallacy is an error in the reasoning process that makes an argument unreliable.
5. In hunting, a strongly scented object drawn across a trail will distract hounds and
cause them to follow the new scent. In rhetoric, a red herring is a false issue used to
lead attention away from the real one.
6. The entire living world is a complex interwoven pattern of relationships in which
organisms affect each other and in which each organism is affected by the chemical
and physical components of its environment. The study of these complex
interrelationships is called ecology.
7. Both chemical and physical components constitute the "ground" factors that enable
the biotic components, or living organisms, to grow.
8. Carriers are people who harbor disease organisms in their bodies, sometimes
permanently, but have not had the actual disease.
9. This creates a molecule that is bipolar (that is, it has two poles, one positive and the
other negative).
10.Many of the pollutants emitted by automobile exhaust and industrial processes are
carcinogenic (cancer-producing)