Guessing Meaning From Context

GUESSING MEANING
FROM CONTEXT CLUES

GUESSING MEANING FROM CONTEXT
The ability to infer the meaning of an unknown word by looking at the

vocabulary around it or its context is an important skill. The context
here refers to the sentence or paragraph where the
unfamiliar word appears, which provides the reader with information
to make sense of the term.
The term " adolescent parents, " however, has frequently been a euphemism for
" teenage mothers." As a result of the Adolescent Health…
Context Unknown word

T YPES OF CONTEXT CLUES
Context clues are words or phrases in the sentence or

paragraph that help the reader to figure out the meaning of
the unknown word. There are 4 types of clues you could use
to support your reading or listening comprehension.
1. Synonyms
2. Examples and definitions
3. Antonyms and contrast
4. General Knowledge
1. SYNONYMS AND DEFINITIONS
A synomym is a word or phrase that means the same or is very similar to another
word. Definitions state or describe the meaning of a word. These two context clues
can be used to discover the meaning of an unknown word. But…how?
Tip • Select the unknown word.

1 • Identify its part of speech: is it a verb? A noun? An adjective? etc.
• Check if there is a synonym in the sentence that can provide the same
meaning of the unknown word.
• Determine its positive or negative value: Is it a good or a bad thing?
Days after he made a flippant remark in class, he regretted sounding so

disrespectful.
1. SYNONYMS AND DEFINITIONS
Signals of synonyms in the text: means, called, be verbs, that is , also known as,or,
is referred to as, sometimes called, is/are known as, by [ ] is meant.., similar to,
can be defined as, commas (, ,) or dashes (--) and synonyms.
Tip
• Use these signals to help you identify synomyms or similar phrases
2
that explain the unknown word.
• Bear in mind that the synonym may appear before or after these
signals.
The Milky Way is littered with dark obscuring clouds of dust commonly
referred to as " coalsacks. "
SYNONYMS AND DEFINITIONS IN TEXTS
1998; Wolffe, 2001) for people who are visually impaired (that is, those who
are blind or have low vision).
..and are proud of its cultural and moral legacy. If by secularism is meant
unbelief, there are few, if any, secularists in the Arab-Muslim world.
..find his or her way to a destination: piloting and path integration. Piloting
means using sensory information to estimate one s position at any given
time, while path..
They had a close encounter with a dromedary, a one-humped camel.
ACTIVIT Y A
...peanuts develop underground. Unlike true nuts, peanuts (Arachis

hypogaea, also known as pinders, goober peas, ground peas, and ground 1
nuts) are unusual
The primary dietary source of sodium is sodium chloride, also known as
2
table salt, he says.
Malaria can be more severe in children, and symptoms in children are
3
similar to those of other diseases.
If people could copy our software - in other words, create cheap knockoffs
4
of our products - we wouldn't get paid for our work.
Talent can take years to surface. When Robert was a young boy, his great
aptitude in physics was not all apparent to his teachers. 5
2. EXAMPLES
Examples can inform the reader about unknown words. They can illustrate the
meaning of the word that they refer to.
Signals of examples in the text: for example, (e.g), for instance, such as, including,
like, as an example, cases of, instances of, type of, to illustrate.
The Lehigh malware is an example of a computer virus.
Networks allow users to share high-tech gaskets such as ipads, tablets, etc.
Since she retired from her job, she has developed new avocations. For example, she
enjoys internet , going to the cinema and gardening.
3. ANTONYMS AND CONTRAST
Antonyms are words that mean the opposite of other words. Antonyms can refer to
the opposed idea of an unknown word in the sentence or paragraph.
• Select the unknown word.

Tip • Identify its the part of speech: is it a verb? A noun? An adjective? etc.
1 • Check if there is a synonym in the sentence that can provide the same
meaning of the unkown word.
• Determine its positive or negative value: Is it a good or a bad thing?
…, the glass might absorb so much acoustic energy that it will shatter; the
other glasses remain unaffected.
To keep healthy, people need to be active. If they remain stagnant, it could

result in loss of vitality and health.
3. ANTONYMS AND CONTRAST
• Use these signals to help you identify contrast or opposition

Tip phrases that may explain the unknown word.
2 • Bear in mind that the antonym may appear before or after these
signals.
Signals of antonyms in the text: however, but, yet, in contrast, although, on the
other hand, despite, while, in spite of, even though, unlike, nevertheless.
It kept me dry and warm even though I was soaked, and all of the moisture on my
body passed right through.
The big trees, lush vegetation, and wildlife are in stark contrast to withered areas in
the city, which…
4. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Sometimes it is necessary to rely on your own experience and background

knowledge to figure out the meaning of a word. Read all the words surrounding the
unknown term to help you draw conclusions based on the complimentary
information found in the text.
What is the meaning of abate?

…physicians usually allow football players to resume play once symptoms abate,
perhaps within days.
For the sailors, the wind continued to abate and you could feel their frustration.
What is the meaning of surrogate?

A patient or his or her legal surrogate may also refuse the artificial administration
of food and fluid through a feeding tube.
…machine that's going to land on the surface. And it is essentially a surrogate for a
human geologist exploring Mars.
4. THE POWER OF KNOWLEDGE
Chances are that you may know what word should go on the blank spaces solely on
your knowledge or life experience. See if you can guess which word fits best with
the context , write it down.
1 What word best fits in the blank space?

Michael Chamberlain was a pastor with the Seventh-day Adventist _______ , a protestant
denomination..
I believe in an America where the separation of ________ and state is absolute.
Dr. William Estes, an Old Catholic __________ bishop, put a finer point on this temptation:
2 What word best fits in the blank space?

…study did not break out the specific number of middle and high _______teachers.
In each grade level at each _________an intact classroom of students in a required course.
…results from this study may not generalize to youths who do not attend _______ .
…in the yearbook and think, Who was she again? Did I go to _________with her?
WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED:
1. We can decipher the meaning of unknown words by using context clues

such as synonyms, examples, opposites, and our general knowledge.
2. The context is the source of hints that will help you determine the
meaning of an unknown word.
3. We should not employ the dictionary every time we find an unknown

word when reading or listening. Instead, we should be able to guess or
hypothesize the meaning of a word based on the context.
4. At this point, the dictionary should only be used for verifying our guesses
or suppositions from our text analysis.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Langan, J. Ten steps to improving college reading. Fith edition, Townsend Press,
USA, 2008. 628 pp.
Singhal, M. Teaching Reading to adult second language learners. Theoretical
Foundations, Pedagigical Applications, and Current Issues. The Reading Matrix Inc.
USA, 2005. 249 pp.
Sonka, A. Skillful Reading. A text and Workbook for students of English as a
second language. Prentice Hall Regents, New Jersey, USA, 1981. 278 pp.
English Grammar. Helping learners with real English. The Bank of English. The
University of Birmingham. Harper Collings Publishers, England. 2000. 486 pp.
Davies, Mark. (2008-) The Corpus of Contemporary American English: 450 million
words, 1990-present. Available online at http://corpus.byu.edu/coca/.
All examples in this presentation were taken from the corpus above.

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GUESSING MEANING

FROM CONTEXT CLUES

The ability to infer the meaning of an unknown word by looking at the

Context Unknown word

Context clues are words or phrases in the sentence or

Tip • Select the unknown word.

Days after he made a flippant remark in class, he regretted sounding so

...peanuts develop underground. Unlike true nuts, peanuts (Arachis

The Lehigh malware is an example of a computer virus.

• Select the unknown word.

To keep healthy, people need to be active. If they remain stagnant, it could

• Use these signals to help you identify contrast or opposition

Sometimes it is necessary to rely on your own experience and background

What is the meaning of abate?

What is the meaning of surrogate?

1 What word best fits in the blank space?

2 What word best fits in the blank space?

1. We can decipher the meaning of unknown words by using context clues

3. We should not employ the dictionary every time we find an unknown

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