critic

American  

[krit-ik] / ˈkrɪt ɪk /

noun

• critics
  plural

1. a person who judges, evaluates, or criticizes.

   a poor critic of men.

2. a person who judges, evaluates, or analyzes literary or artistic works, dramatic or musical performances, or the like, especially for a newspaper or magazine.

   Synonyms:

   judge, reviewer

3. a person who tends too readily to make captious, trivial, or harsh judgments; faultfinder.

   Synonyms:

   carper, censurer

4. Archaic.

   1. criticism.

   2. critique.

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critic British  

/ ˈkrɪtɪk /

noun

1. a person who judges something

2. a professional judge of art, music, literature, etc

3. a person who often finds fault and criticizes

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• supercritic
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• critics
  plural

Etymology

Origin of critic

1575–85; < Latin criticus < Greek kritikós skilled in judging (adj.), critic (noun), equivalent to krī́t ( ēs ) judge, umpire ( krī́ ( nein ) to separate, decide + -tēs agent suffix) + -ikos -ic

Explanation

A critic is someone who finds fault with something and expresses an unfavorable opinion. You might be a critic of your school’s new plan to start the school day at 6:30 a.m. The word critic came into English by way of Latin, tracing back to the Greek word krinein, meaning “judge, decide.” If you’re a critic, you’re essentially judging something — and finding it lacking. Critic can be used broadly to describe any person expressing an unfavorable view, but there are professional critics as well, such as people who review movies or music. In that sense, the word describes someone who thoughtfully assesses something, either favorably or negatively.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

critic critics

“The badly written letter of Andrés López Beltrán doesn’t transmit indignation,” wrote Denise Dresser, a columnist and frequentSheinbaum administration critic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

“Factually, it’s baloney,” Times film critic Amy Nicholson wrote in her review of “Tony.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been a frequent critic of the food industry, which he has blamed for sickening Americans with ultraprocessed foods and chemicals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Food critic Giles Coren previously came out in support of the restaurant, claiming Michelin-starred restaurants should not have to abide by normal health and safety rules and the guidelines should "probably be modernised".

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

As a child I’d read those letters as an act of worship; now I read them with different eyes, not the eyes of a critic, but also not the eyes of a disciple.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

The Taliban government celebrates five years of ruling Afghanistan on Saturday, with the authorities hailing their country's "freedom" and security, while critics decry tightening restrictions in all areas of daily life.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

However, critics argue that at each of these businesses only a tiny proportion of staff are actually using the AI, and that those who do so are only using it to a very limited extent.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

To critics, it is a system that will cover up weaknesses in some corners of the AI marketplace.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Like past after-action reports, the review was hyper-focused on the threats faced by officers, critics said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

He left office in March of 1797 with the resounding cheers of his huge army of supporters and the howls of that much smaller pack of critics echoing in his ears.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

• authority
• cartoonist
• commentator
• expert
• judge
• pundit
• reviewer