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

Those are questions increasingly posed over the past two years, changing the meaning of diversity in the context of judicial nominations. —Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 25 Jan. 2025

Historians would be called in to provide context, and every social-media app would be trembling with outrage. —Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2025

The producers failed to provide sufficient time or details for his representatives to address unsubstantiated claims, many from unidentified participants whose allegations lack context. —John Yoo and John Shu, Newsweek, 24 Jan. 2025

In this context, Donald Trump appears to be continuing, in a more aggressive way, the already violent anti-drug policy of the United States. —Anna Lagos, WIRED, 24 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