clinical

[klin-i-kuhl]

adjective

1. pertaining to a clinic.

2. concerned with or based on actual observation and treatment of disease in patients rather than experimentation or theory.

3. extremely objective and realistic; dispassionately analytic; unemotionally critical.

   She regarded him with clinical detachment.

4. pertaining to or used in a sickroom.

   a clinical bandage.

5. Ecclesiastical.

   1. (of a sacrament) administered on a deathbed or sickbed.

   2. (of a convert or conversion) made on a deathbed or sickbed.

clinical

/ ˈklɪnɪkəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to a clinic

2. of or relating to the bedside of a patient, the course of his disease, or the observation and treatment of patients directly

   a clinical lecture

   clinical medicine

3. scientifically detached; strictly objective

   a clinical attitude to life

4. plain, simple, and usually unattractive

   clinical furniture

Other Word Forms

• clinicalness noun
• clinically adverb
• nonclinical adjective
• nonclinically adverb
• overclinical adjective
• overclinically adverb
• semiclinical adjective
• semiclinically adverb
• unclinical adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of clinical¹

First recorded in 1770–80; clinic + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Amazon says the kiosks have the same clinical oversight as traditional pharmacies but with added convenience, and that speed and convenience don’t replace clinical rigor.

Read more on MarketWatch

A new randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial suggests that a single round of low-dose radiation therapy could offer a safe and effective alternative for people suffering from painful knee osteoarthritis.

Read more on Science Daily

Dr. Cohen's research demonstrates that traditional categorical systems fail to reflect underlying biological realities or clinical presentations adequately.

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The researchers are exploring how the method could be adapted for wider clinical use, including on more commonly available 3T MRI scanners.

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The clinical cause of death was given as drowning.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• analytic 
• impersonal 
• scientific