USING CONTEXTUAL CLUES

TO DECIPHER UNKNOWN
WORDS
INTRODUCTION
 When attempting to decipher the meaning of a new
word, it is often useful to look at what comes
before and after that word.
 The surrounding words can give readers helpful
context clues about the meaning and structure of
the new word, as well as how it is used.
 First is to look and see if the definition of the word is
right there. This can also be a restating of the word.

 Consider this sentence:

 'While planning the party, Susan was prudent with

the guest list, acting with great caution and care not
to invite anyone with whom she wouldn't want to
jump around in a bounce house.'
 What does 'prudent' mean? In this sentence, the
definition of the word is right there.
 Who is being prudent? Susan. With what? The guest
list.
 You don't need to know what prudent means to figure
that out. And how else is Susan's behavior with the
guest list described? She's acting with great caution
and care.
 So what's the definition of prudent? Acting with great
caution and care.
 Second, use examples given that help explain the
word in question.
 This is very similar to finding the definition.
 Look at this sentence: 'Devin procrastinated to
avoid his homework all day, watching TV,
playing video games and even writing thank you
cards to his grandparents.'
 What does 'procrastinate' mean?
 This time, it's not defined elsewhere in the sentence.
But we do have examples of what it means.
 We know that watching TV, playing video games
and writing thank you cards are all forms of
procrastination.
 If Devin should be doing his homework, but he's
doing these other things instead, then
procrastination must mean delaying or putting off.
 Third, see if there’s a synonym or antonym nearby.
 A synonym is another word that means the same
thing.
 An antonym is a word that means the opposite.
Example 1
 Mark wanted to impress his date with the dinner he
prepared, but the massive ice sculpture centerpiece
he made with a chainsaw between courses was just
superfluous, extra and unnecessary.
 What does 'superfluous' mean?
 There are two synonyms right there: extra and
unnecessary.
 That's the meaning of superfluous.
Example 2
 'Priscilla is so humble and modest that she could never
be called haughty.'
 What does 'haughty' mean?
 Again, we have two other adjectives: humble and
modest.
 But notice the context. Priscilla could never be called
haughty. Why? Because she's humble and modest.
 This time, we have antonyms. So, haughty is the
opposite of humble and modest. Therefore, it means
arrogant and pretentious.
 Fourth is substitution method.
 Example: 'As you might expect, the acid that
burned a hole in the table also has deleterious
fumes.'
 What does that word 'deleterious' mean?
 It's used as an adjective to describe the fumes. But
we don't have any synonyms or antonyms. And
there isn't a definition or any examples in the
sentence. Let's try substitution.
Cont…
 What about 'pleasant?' Would that make sense in
context?
 'As you might expect, the acid that burned a hole in
the table also has pleasant fumes.'
 NO! Burning a hole in the table is bad. Pleasant
fumes are good. We wouldn't connect those two
things, would we? That's using context.
 So, we are looking for a negative word.
Cont…
 The acid burned a hole in the table. So, the fumes
are also probably causing harm, right?
 What about 'harmful?'
 'As you might expect, the acid that burned a hole in
the table also has harmful fumes.'
 That's it! That makes sense in context, and
deleterious does mean harmful.
Lesson Summary
 First, we looked for the definition of the word in the
sentence.
 We then looked for examples in the sentence that may
help define the word.
 When a definition of some sort isn't present, we looked
for synonyms or antonyms to offer clues for us.
 Finally, we tried substitution. This involves choosing a
familiar word that maintains the original meaning of
the sentence.
Exercises
Choose the correct meaning of the underlined word, and identify the type of
context clue used: example, contrast, definition, or logic 
1. Our baseball team's pitcher has a few eccentric habits, such as throwing exactly
thirteen warm-up pitches and never wearing socks.

A) normal
B) strange
C) messy

2. After the heavy rains, the stream became murky; in fact, the water was so cloudy
you couldn't see the bottom.

A) cloudy
B) bottomless
C) clear
Cont…
3. The debris on the stadium floor included numerous paper cups, ticket stubs, and
cigarette butts.

A) products
B) papers
C) trash

4. The coach takes every opportunity to censure his players, yet he ignores every
opportunity to praise them.

A) approve of
B) criticize
C) choose
Cont…
5. The newlyweds agreed to be very frugal in their shopping because they
wanted to save enough money to buy a house.

A) economical
B) wasteful
C) interested

6. Although Alex usually looks unkempt, he had a very neat appearance at his

job interview.

A) orderly
B) handsome
C) messy
Cont…
 In the sentences below, which type of context clue is provided for the
underlined word?

7. I'm looking for a unique gift for my boyfriend; he appreciates unusual things.

A) example
B) synonym
C) antonym / contrast

8. Expecting that his license would be renewed, the pilot was surprised when it
was revoked instead.

A) example
B) synonym
C) antonym