Context

Vocabulary Building
 Context clues
• Text book writers usually know when they
must use a word that will be new to their
student readers. So they often include
other words or phrases to help with the
understanding of the new word. These
words or phrases are referred to as
context clues. They are built into the
sentences around the difficult word. If you
become more aware of the words around
the difficult words you encounter in your
reading, you will save your self many
 Context clues
• Context Clues are hints that the
author gives to help define a difficult
or unusual word. The clue may
appear within the same sentence as
the word to which it refers, or it may
be in a preceding or subsequent
sentence. Because most of your
vocabulary is gained through
reading, it is important that you be
able to recognize and take
FOUR TYPES OF CONTEXT
CLUES:
1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Antonyms
4. Example
 DEFINITION
 The verb "to be" is a signal indicating
that the definition of the word may
be in the sentence. A form of the
verb "to be" is located between the
unfamiliar word and its meaning.
 Examples:
1. A carnivore is an animal that feeds
only on meat.
2. A biographer, or one who writes
about people's lives, is an example
of an author.
 SYNONYM
  The word "like" is a signal word
indicating synonym which means
there is a word of similar meaning in
the sentence.

A synonym, or word with the same

meaning, is used in the sentence.
 Examples:

2. The harlequin, like the circus

clown, was a fool who loved to
perform.
3. My opponent's argument
is fallacious, misleading – plain
wrong.
 ANTONYM
  The word "but" is a signal word
indicating antonym which means
there is a word of opposite meaning
in the sentence.

A word or group of words that has the

opposite meaning reveals the
meaning of an unknown term.
 Examples:

2. Jerry is very clumsy, but his sister

Jenny is adroit.
3. Although some men
are loquacious, others hardly talk
at all.
 WHAT ARE EXAMPLE
CLUES?
 Using examples or illustrations, an
author tries to show what a word
means. A writer may give just one
example or several. Remember that
these examples are not synonyms.
Look for words or phrases like such
as, including or consists of, Colons (:)
and dashes (-) can also signal
examples.
 Examples:
1. The river was full of noxious materials
such as cleaning agents from factories
and pesticides from the nearby farms.
2. This third grade was full
of precocious children. One child
had learned to read at two and another
could do algebra at age 6.
3. When going to an office party you
should show your best decorum, for
example, dress your best, drink and
eat moderately, and be sure to thank
Synth
Exerci
 Cubbyholes
• I have always lived in cubbyholes.
After moving away from home, my
first apartment was just
a cubbyhole in a large building. It
was no more that 8' by 12' and had a
bed in one corner. My second was no
more that a large walk-in closet. My
current one is about 10 feet long by
12 feet wide, but it at least has two
rooms.
Cubbyhole =
 Scuzzy
• The floors of the restaurant were
extremely scuzzy. They were
covered with spilled grease, crumbs
of food, and cigarette butts.

Scuzzy =
 Remunerated
• The contractor was always
well remunerated for his work. For
example, he received $10,000 for a
small addition to a house and last
year he was received $5,000 for
reconstructing a stairway.

Remunerated =
 Breeches
• The department store carries a
variety of breeches, for example
they carried Levis, Wranglers, and
even some plain unlabeled brands
made of cotton.

Breeches = PANTS /
 Bauble
• Josie received a bauble for
Christmas from her great aunt. This
she put with her others, a pair of
imitation earrings, a fake emerald
pendant, and a ring that looked like a
ruby.

Bauble = Jewelries
 Vociferous
• The girl who used to be
very vociferous doesn't talk much
anymore.

Vociferous =
 Parcimonious
• He was so parsimonious that he
refused to give his own sons the few
pennies they needed to buy pencils
for school. It truly hurt him to part
with his money.

Parsimonious =
 Pertinacity
• His pertinacity, or stubbornness, is
the cause of most of his trouble.

Pertinacity =
 Ecclesiastics
• Ecclesiastics, such as priests,
ministers, and pastors, should set
models of behavior for their
congregants.

Ecclesiastics =
 churlish
• The girl was churlish – rude, sullen
and absolutely ill-mannered.

Churlish = RUDE
 Conflagration
• Because the conflagration was
aided by wind, it was so destructive
that every building in the area was
completely burned to the ground.

Conflagration =
END