judgmental

American  

[juhj-men-tl] / dʒʌdʒˈmɛn tl /

especially British, judgemental

adjective

1. involving the use or exercise of judgment.

2. tending to make quick and excessively critical judgments, especially moral ones.

   to avoid a judgmental approach in dealing with divorced couples.

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judgmental British  

/ dʒʌdʒˈmɛntəl /

adjective

1. of or denoting an attitude in which judgments about other people's conduct are made

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Other Word Forms

• judgmentally adverb
• unjudgmental adjective

Etymology

Origin of judgmental

First recorded in 1905–10; judgment + -al ¹

Explanation

Oddly enough, people with good judgment are not usually considered judgmental. Judgmental is a negative word to describe someone who often rushes to judgment without reason. The adjective judgmental describes someone who forms lots of opinions — usually harsh or critical ones — about lots of people. Judgmental types are not open-minded or easygoing. Judgmental has the word judge at its root, which itself is from the Latin word judicem, which also means "to judge." Judgemental (with an extra "e") is considered a legitimate variant spelling of judgmental.

Example Sentences

Democratic citizens need to develop the habit of listening imaginatively rather than in a competitive or judgmental way.

From Slate • Jan. 2, 2026

You can find cruel, judgmental and unkind people everywhere.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

But then how can they be judgmental at all of the way that I spend the money that I rightfully, lawfully earn at my job?

From MarketWatch • Nov. 3, 2025

These judgmental outsiders are themselves beginning to direct and suddenly the party seems to be revolving around them.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 29, 2025

I never realized, though, that by hiding him away from this gossiping, judgmental world, I ensured that my son would emerge shrouded in worse suspicion than I ever endured.

From "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling

Related Words

• subjective