context

noun
/ˈkɒn.tɛkst/

The surroundings, circumstances, environment, background or settings that determine, specify, or clarify the meaning of an event or other occurrence.

Example

“—In what context did your attack on him happen? —We had a pretty tense relationship at the time, and when he insulted me I snapped.”

Other meanings

The text in which a word or passage appears and which helps ascertain its meaning.
The surroundings and environment in which an artifact is found and which may provide important clues about the artifact's function and/or cultural meaning.

Synonyms

setting

Antonyms

isolation

Related words

contextful
contextless
contextomy
macrocontext
metacontext
microcontext
supercontext
context-free
context-sensitive
KWIC
KWOC
out of context

Example sentences

“There's no context for any of this.”
Tatoeba · Miktsoanit · CC0
“Show me the context, and I will tell you the meaning.”
Tatoeba · shekitten · CC0

Word history

From Latin "contextus".

Where this comes from

This definition is adapted from “context” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above; related-word lists use Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0, based on Princeton WordNet), published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.