1. a person who believes that the meaning or truth of something depends on its context rather than on universal or absolute principles
Usage: philosophy, linguistics, semantics

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of contextualism or contextualists
Usage: philosophy, linguistics, semantics

Examples

• A contextualist argues that the meaning of a word changes depending on the situation in which it is used.
• The contextualist approach to ethics considers the specific circumstances of each moral decision.
• Contextualist philosophers reject the idea that truth is independent of context.
• Her contextualist interpretation of the law takes into account the historical period in which it was written.
• Contextualists in linguistics study how surrounding words affect meaning.
• The debate between contextualists and universalists has shaped modern philosophy.