context-free

adjective

con·​text-free ˈkän-ˌtekst-ˈfrē How to pronounce context-free (audio)
: of, relating to, or being a grammar or language based on rules that describe a change in a string without reference to elements not in the string
also : being such a rule

Examples of context-free in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Echoing expert advice about avoiding health misinformation, Sharp suggests consumers should be suspicious of vague, oversimplified, context-free statements about the causes and fixes of inflammation, especially ones from people who make money off your attention. Keren Landman, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018 The Times identified multiple inaccuracies and context-free statements in BNN stories that seemed to extend beyond simple human error. Tiffany Hsu, New York Times, 6 June 2024 Last night my colleague Kylie Robison broke the news that X (formerly Twitter) plans to transform news article links shared on the platform into context-free images. Alexandra Sternlicht, Fortune, 22 Aug. 2023 The show has always existed in a pre-nostalgic haze, the vicious realities of life in the Roy family preceded by the fragmented opening credit sequence that turns their lives into snapshots from a context-free family album. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1964, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of context-free was in 1964

Dictionary Entries Near context-free

Cite this Entry

“Context-free.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/context-free. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!