context

noun

con·​text ˈkän-ˌtekst 

1

: the parts of a discourse that surround a word or passage and can throw light on its meaning

2

: the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs : environment, setting

the historical context of the war

contextless

ˈkän-ˌtekst-ləs 

adjective

contextual

kän-ˈteks-chə-wəl 

kən-

-chəl

-chü-əl

adjective

contextually adverb

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Context, in Context

In its earliest uses (documented in the 15th century), context meant "the weaving together of words in language." This sense, now obsolete, developed logically from the word's source in Latin, contexere "to weave or join together." Context now most commonly refers to the environment or setting in which something (whether words or events) exists. When we say that something is contextualized, we mean that it is placed in an appropriate setting, one in which it may be properly considered.

Synonyms

• ambient
• atmosphere
• climate
• clime
• contexture
• environment
• environs
• medium
• milieu
• mise-en-scène
• setting
• surround
• surroundings
• terrain

Examples of context in a Sentence

… it was Dickens who first used the word 'detective' in a literary context … —John Mullan, How Novels Work, 2006

Entrepreneurship and civil freedoms depend on a context of civil order, predictability, and individual security. —Susan L. Woodward, Balkan Tragedy, 1995

… the old building, its original acre, inside its high outer wall, was immune to change, out of context and out of time. —Harriet Doerr, The Tiger in the Grass, 1995

We need to look at the event within the larger context of world history.

The book puts these events in their proper historical and social contexts.

We need to consider these events in context.

Recent Examples on the Web

This change coincides with the wider cultural context of a new Trump administration that has actively heightened discussions about online freedom of expression. —Dan Fitzpatrick, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025

His collage-like editing, which emphasizes nature (trees, skies, seas, animals) along with drama, places actors in the context of a world rather than centering his cinematic world on acting. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025

Without this context, the accuracy of risk assessments is undermined. —Philip Caldwell, Baltimore Sun, 12 Jan. 2025

What a single Mach-Zehnder interferometer does in this context is a two-by-two matrix operation, performed on a pair of optical signals. —Ars Technica, 12 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English contexte "text, composition," borrowed from Medieval Latin contextus "sequence, connection, setting," going back to Latin, "action of weaving, connection, coherence, ordered scheme, structure," from contexere "to weave together, connect (words), compose, combine" (from con- con- + texere "to weave, construct") + -tus, suffix of action nouns — more at technical entry 1

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing context

• context-free
• in context

Kids Definition

context

noun

con·​text ˈkän-ˌtekst 

1

: the parts of something written or spoken that are near a certain word or group of words and that help to explain its meaning

2

: the circumstances in which something exists or occurs

contextual

kän-ˈteks-chə(-wə)l 

kən-

adjective

contextually

-ē

adverb