Glossary
context clue
A context clue is information in the sentence around an unknown word that narrows what the word means — a definition, a restatement, a contrast, an example, a consequence or the general sense.
A context clue is any information in the sentence around an unknown word that narrows what it means. Six kinds do the work. A definition restates the meaning, often after a comma or a dash: the patient was afebrile — no fever at all. A restatement gives the meaning in ordinary words nearby: the wound was superficial, involving only the top layer of skin. Contrast supplies the opposite, so the word must be the reverse of what the other half of the sentence describes. An example lists instances and lets the word name the category: vital signs such as pulse and temperature. Cause and effect states the word's consequence: because the dressing was occlusive, it sealed the air out. General sense uses the sentence's subject and tone to narrow the meaning. The test is substitution. Put your meaning back into the sentence and read it again: if it still sounds like something a clinician would write, the sense fits, and a dictionary meaning that makes the sentence strange is the wrong meaning here.
Taught in
Related terms
- prefix — A prefix is the part fixed to the front of a medical word, and it changes direction, size, speed, number or negation without changing what the word is about.
- confusable word — Confusable words are pairs that look or sound alike but differ in meaning and grammar, such as affect and effect, or accept and except.
- acute — Acute describes a condition that begins quickly and is expected to be short-lived, which is a statement about time and not about severity.
- chronic — Chronic describes a condition that persists over a long period or recurs, as distinct from one that is severe.
- benign — Benign describes something that is not cancerous and not harmful in itself, or a condition that runs a mild course.
- afebrile — Afebrile means without fever, and the word is built from the negation prefix a- plus febrile, meaning feverish.
- contraindication — A contraindication is a condition or circumstance in which a treatment should not be used, because its risk outweighs its benefit.
- ambulatory — Ambulatory means able to walk, or a care setting that does not require an overnight stay.
- bolus — A bolus is a single dose given quickly and in full, as opposed to the same amount delivered slowly over time; the word also names a mass of chewed food ready to be swallowed.
Source: MedlinePlus (US National Library of Medicine) consumer guidance on understanding medical words, which the vocabulary guide follows for the prefix, root, suffix and combining-vowel system. US federal government material, not subject to copyright in the United States. Every definition and example above was written for this course in our own words; no dictionary or glossary text is reproduced. (MedlinePlus accessed 2026-10-27; definitions written 2026-10-27)