Comparison and Contrast Clues
Sometime you can tell the meaning of an unfamiliar word when it is compared or contrasted to something familiar. Context clues that show comparison include like, as, similar, and in the same way. Contrasts may be signaled by words such as but, although, however, and on the other hand.
Kari’s happy face was luminous, like the rays of the sun.
The clue word like in this sentence tells you that luminous means “shining” or
“giving off light.”
I assumed a rhino would move in a lumbering manner, but it raced across the screen like an attacking army tank.
The clue word but in this sentence suggests that lumbering means “moving in a heavy, slow manner.”
