- [only before noun] relating to the examination and treatment of patients and their illnesses
- clinical research (= done on patients, not just considering theory)
- clinical training (= the part of a doctor’s training done in a hospital)
- She regarded her patients from a purely clinical standpoint.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- purely
- almost
- about
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- (disapproving) cold and calm and without feeling or sympathy
- He watched her suffering with clinical detachment.
- How can you be so cold and clinical about your son’s accident?
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- purely
- almost
- about
- (disapproving) (of a room, building, etc.) very plain; without decoration
- Everything in the nursery was white and clinical and there were no pictures on the walls.
Word Originlate 18th cent.: from Greek klinikē ‘bedside’, from klinē ‘bed’. + -al.
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clinical