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Synonyms

clinical

American  
[klin-i-kuhl] / ˈklɪn ɪ kəl /

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 British  
/ 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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of clinical

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Danker said Pazdur was indecisive about the proposal to move to one clinical trial.

From The Wall Street Journal

Food and Drug Administration is cancelling development of a new flu vaccine from biotech giant Moderna, with one unnamed senior FDA official calling the clinical trial a “brazen failure.”

From Salon

The law didn’t mandate that women be included in medical clinical research until 1993.

From The Wall Street Journal

Some large clinical trials have suggested omega-3 supplements may lower cancer risk, while others have found no benefit or even a possible increase in cancer cases.

From Science Daily

Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit organization focused on preventive medicine, clinical research, and improving ethical and scientific standards in education and research.

From Science Daily