clinical
Americanadjective
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pertaining to a clinic.
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concerned with or based on actual observation and treatment of disease in patients rather than experimentation or theory.
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extremely objective and realistic; dispassionately analytic; unemotionally critical.
She regarded him with clinical detachment.
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pertaining to or used in a sickroom.
a clinical bandage.
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Ecclesiastical.
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(of a sacrament) administered on a deathbed or sickbed.
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(of a convert or conversion) made on a deathbed or sickbed.
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adjective
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of or relating to a clinic
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of or relating to the bedside of a patient, the course of his disease, or the observation and treatment of patients directly
a clinical lecture
clinical medicine
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scientifically detached; strictly objective
a clinical attitude to life
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plain, simple, and usually unattractive
clinical furniture
Other Word Forms
- clinically adverb
- clinicalness noun
- nonclinical adjective
- nonclinically adverb
- overclinical adjective
- overclinically adverb
- semiclinical adjective
- semiclinically adverb
- unclinical adjective
Etymology
Origin of clinical
Explanation
Something that's clinical is based on or connected to the study of patients. Clinical medications have actually been used by real people, not just studied theoretically. When you hear about clinical drug trials, you'll know there are patients taking them and being observed — this type of test can be called clinical research. Another way to use this adjective is to mean "emotionally cold" or "impersonal." If you have a choice between a detached, clinical French teacher and a warm, charming one, you might be more likely to choose the latter. This second meaning of clinical, from the mid-1920s, originally meant "as unemotional as a medical report."
Vocabulary lists containing clinical
"The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury
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Just Mercy
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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There's a strong chance judges could be impressed by the relevance of the installation, and the clinical and corporate way it's presented.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
Dr. Sullivan will present the findings from the study, "Duodenal mucosal resurfacing prevents weight regain after tirzepatide withdrawal: REMAIN-1 multicenter, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled clinical trial -- midpoint cohort results," abstract 642, at 8:30 a.m.
From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2026
For David, navigating this process meant spending 10 hours on the phone and resubmitting the same clinical documentation three times.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026
The company is pre-revenue, but the multiple myeloma treatment is in Phase 1 of clinical trials.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
The moored boats were all very similar to one another, Christopher saw—smaller, even, than their own, and painted clinical green or black.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
