Using Context
When you come across a new word, try to understand it by studying how it is used as well as its context. In the text surrounding the word, look for context clues like these:
Look for . . .
| The transformation of Russia took place very rapidly and with little regulation, allowing robber-baron capitalism to sweep the nation, concentrating the wealth in only a few hands. |
| A vector not only indicates the position of a ray in space but also its motion in time. |
| The phalanges on our hands are elongated compared to those of our feet, which have lost the ability to grasp. |
| Pitch, duration, and intonation shape each note that a singer produces. |
| Gas giants have a relatively low average density. Saturn’s density is less than that of water. |
| A person without a high school diploma can take an equivalency exam to earn a GED. |
| The transitional powers appointed an ad hoc leader until the country could select a duly elected leader. |
| Jim Crow discriminated against entire generations of African Americans, demonstrating the lie of “separate but equal.” |
Your Turn Read a few pages of a class text, writing down at least four words that are new to you. Use context clues to write a beginning definition for each word. Then check your definitions against a dictionary. How close were your definitions?