Definition and Examples of Context Clues

Definition and Examples of Context Clues In reading  and listening, a context clue is information (such as a definition, synonym, antonym, or example) that appears near a word or phrase and offers direct or indirect suggestions about its meaning. Context clues are more commonly found in nonfiction texts than in fiction, though they are found in childrens literature, often with the goal of building readers vocabulary. Words can have multiple meanings, so being able to infer the correct meaning from context is a valuable reading comprehension skill. Types of Context Clues You learn new words through context of the words around them, inferring their meaning through whats going on in the story or what has already been explained in the article. Clues to deciphering a words meaning can be subtle hints or straight-out explanations or illustrations of meaning.   Context clues can be synonyms, antonyms, definitions, explanations, word-structure clues, comparisons (such as metaphors and similes), and contrasts. For example: Synonym context clues will have words nearby that mean the same thing: Synonym: The annual fete is scheduled for the last day of school. Its always a great party.Synonym:   That charlatan! he cried. That absolute fake! Antonym context clues will have words nearby that mean the opposite. Antonym: You look pretty content about it, not like youre all languishing in worry, he said.Antonym:  No, no, that didnt literally happen, she said. I was just  speaking figuratively. Definition context clues just spell out the meaning in a straightforward manner: Definition: In Britain they call a cars trunk its boot.Definition: The department  super, as we call them, she explained to the new hire, is Jerry, the utilities  superintendent.   An explanation or illustration can also show the context of the word: Explanation:  She looked at the  random stuff  that had been thrown in the packing box at the last minute, from toothpaste and razors to spatulas and sticky notes. Well, thats quite the  melange, isnt it? she thought.Explanation:  No, no, thats just a  crane fly, not a  gigantic mosquito, he explained. Word-structure clues come from a reader or listener understanding, for example, a base word and a prefix and inferring meaning of their combination, such as knowing anti- means against or knowing one word when hearing something very similar, such as understanding that a memorial is for someone whos died: Word-structure: Im absolutely anti-establishment, the candidate declared.Word-structure: The book was listed in memoriam of his father. Comparison context clues will show the meaning of a word through similarities to other items or elements, similies or metaphors: Comparison: He looked absolutely  flummoxed, like a toddler staring down at his feet on the floor and who just isnt sure about this whole walking thing.Comparison:  No, she said, Im as carefree about it as a bird floating among the clouds. Contrast context clues show meaning through dissimilar elements: Contrast:  It isnt exactly the melee that I expected by your description, he said. The kids are just roughhousing a little. I expected them to be bruised and bleeding.Contrast: I know she said she could  reconstitute  the dried fruit, but a wet raisin just isnt a grape any longer. Limitations of Context Clues Learning new words this way has its limitations, as contexts arent always informative; theyll likely give a reader only a general idea of a word, not a full meaning. If the sentences in which the new word appear dont clearly spell out the definition of the word, the meaning may not be retained by the readers memory for long. For long-term retention, a reader needs to see a word multiple times, and having some instances include a definition will increase the likelihood of a person remembering the word.   Michael Graves wrote in The Vocabulary Book: Learning and Instruction, All in all, the descriptive research on learning from context shows that context can produce learning of word meanings and that although the probability of learning a word from a single occurrence is low, the probability of learning a word from context increases substantially with additional occurrences of the word. That is how we typically learn from context. We learn a little from the first encounter with a word and then more and more about a words meaning as we meet it in new and different contexts.