Meaning & use

clinical

adjective·Academic

Relating to the direct observation and treatment of patients, or coldly objective and detached.

See it in a sentence

The clinical trial tested the new drug on volunteers over six months.

His clinical response to the tragic news surprised everyone in the room.

A note on using this word

Clinical describes actual medical practice, but figuratively it can criticize someone's manner as emotionally cold or overly analytical.

Words with a similar meaning

medicaldetachedimpersonal

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

emotionalwarm

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