clinically

American  

[kli-nik-lee] / ˈklɪ nɪk li /

adverb

1. in a clinical way.

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Explanation

When a medication has been clinically proven, it's been tested on actual patients. Clinically can also describe a cold and detached manner, a personality better suited to robots than people. It's a good thing when doctors and scientists do things clinically, because they're not only using studies and statistics to make decisions — they're talking to and observing patients. On the other hand, when a doctor treats you clinically at your yearly appointment, she is efficient but aloof, rather than warm and welcoming. Clinically is from clinical, from the Latin clinicus, "physician who visits patients in their beds," with the Greek root klinike, "at the sickbed."

Example Sentences

It still “plans to offer access to compounded GLP-1s if a provider determines that a compounded product is clinically necessary,” according to a company news release.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026

Delayed discharges, which occur when a patient is clinically ready to leave a hospital but is forced to remain in a bed because necessary social care, support, or housing is unavailable, are incomparable.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

"The improvement we saw is clinically meaningful. These workers were able to stay awake and alert throughout a full eight-hour shift, which has real implications for performance, safety, and quality of life," Czeisler said.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

However, Pfizer said it is confident in the vaccine’s potential, noting that this criterion was met in the second pre-specified analysis and the clinically meaningful efficacy demonstrated in the trial.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

Its cell-destroying capacity is now clinically utilized in the treatment of a rare type of cancer which develops in the adrenal gland.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson