contextual

[kuhn-teks-choo-uhl]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or depending on the context.

contextual

/ kənˈtɛkstjʊəl /

adjective

1. relating to, dependent on, or using context

   contextual criticism of a book

Other Word Forms

• contextually adverb
• noncontextual adjective
• noncontextually adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of contextual¹

1805–15; < Latin contextu-, stem of contextus context + -al ¹

Example Sentences

The simultaneous 21st century digital revolution is dramatically changing the contextual terms of the image game, as surely as the analog camera did after 1839.

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The fan categorized each passage as “aligned” or “inconsistent,” citing contextual nuance and linguistic patterns like a literary scholar.

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But that fact has itself almost disappeared into a bottomless swamp of procedural questions and jurisdictional disputes and supposed contextual ambiguity, while the human being in question remains in ICE custody into the indefinite future.

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It's always difficult to apply these general theories to single individuals, because there's so much contextual information that isn't available and it's difficult to get people's genuine motivations from a distance.

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It is most often used to study how macromolecules, cellular organelles, or cells are spatially organized, providing structural and contextual insights at sub-nanometer resolution.

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Related Words

• circumstantial 
• dependent