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Synonyms

review

American  
[ri-vyoo] / rɪˈvju /

noun

  • reviews
    plural
  1. a critical article or report, as in a periodical, on a book, play, recital, or the like; critique; evaluation.

  2. the process of going over a subject again in study or recitation in order to fix it in the memory or summarize the facts.

  3. an exercise designed or intended for study of this kind.

  4. a general survey of something, especially in words; a report or account of something.

  5. an inspection or examination by viewing, especially a formal inspection of any military or naval force, parade, or the like.

  6. a periodical publication containing articles on current events or affairs, books, art, etc..

    a literary review.

  7. a judicial reexamination, as by a higher court, of the decision or proceedings in a case.

  8. a second or repeated view of something.

    Synonyms:
    reexamination, reconsideration
  9. a viewing of the past; contemplation or consideration of past events, circumstances, or facts.

  10. Bridge. a recapitulation of the bids made by all players.

  11. Theater. revue.


verb (used with object)

  • reviews,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • reviewed,
    past participle,  past
  • reviewing
    present participle
  1. to go over (lessons, studies, work, etc.) in review.

  2. to view, look at, or look over again.

  3. to inspect, especially formally or officially.

    to review the troops.

  4. to survey mentally; take a survey of.

    to review the situation.

  5. to discuss (a book, play, etc.) in a critical review; write a critical report upon.

    Synonyms:
    criticize
  6. to look back upon; view retrospectively.

  7. to present a survey of in speech or writing.

  8. Law. to reexamine judicially.

    a decision to review the case.

  9. Bridge. to repeat and summarize (all bids made by the players).

verb (used without object)

  • reviews,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • reviewed,
    past participle,  past
  • reviewing
    present participle
  1. to write reviews; review books, movies, etc., as for a newspaper or periodical.

    He reviews for some small-town newspaper.

review British  
/ rɪˈvjuː /

verb

  1. to look at or examine again

    to review a situation

  2. to look back upon (a period of time, sequence of events, etc); remember

    he reviewed his achievements with pride

  3. to inspect, esp formally or officially

    the general reviewed his troops

  4. to read through or go over in order to correct

  5. law to re-examine (a decision) judicially

  6. to write a critical assessment of (a book, film, play, concert, etc), esp as a profession

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. Also called: reviewal. the act or an instance of reviewing

  2. a general survey or report

    a review of the political situation

  3. a critical assessment of a book, film, play, concert, etc, esp one printed in a newspaper or periodical

    1. a publication containing such articles

    2. ( capital when part of a name )

      the Saturday Review

  4. a second consideration; re-examination

  5. a retrospective survey

  6. a formal or official inspection

  7. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): revision. the process of rereading a subject or notes on it, esp in preparation for an examination

  8. law judicial re-examination of a case, esp by a superior court

  9. a less common spelling of revue

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What is a basic definition of review? A review is judgement or discussion of the quality of something. Review also means to go over a subject again as part of study or to look at something another time. Review has many other senses as both a noun and a verb. A review is a critique of something—a look at something’s good and bad points. Reviews are very common in every industry, and many people rely on them to learn more about something they are interested in, especially something they want to buy. A person who writes a review is a reviewer.

  • Real-life examples: You can find reviews of almost anything online, such as movies, books, vacation spots, and schools. Websites like Amazon, Google Maps, and Rotten Tomatoes offer reviews of things. Most companies will even boast about good reviews that they get.
  • Used in a sentence: I want to see the new movie because I heard it got good reviews. 
Review is used in this sense as a verb to mean to write or otherwise create (like a video) a review of something.
  • Used in a sentence: Cho began her career by reviewing television shows for her YouTube channel. 
Review is also used to mean to go over a subject again to master it or to remember the material better. Your school teachers likely reviewed previous lessons with your class more than once before a test. When studying a new language, you will review words and grammar rules many times to help commit them to memory.
  • Real-life examples: One of the main reasons teachers assign homework is so students will review the topics they learned that day. College students will often review an entire semester’s worth of notes the night before an important exam.
  • Used in a sentence: Diego reviewed the geometry chapters with his tutor to understand the math better. 
Review is used in this sense as a noun to refer to an exercise or session that involves reviewing subject matter.
  • Used in a sentence: Prof. Lopez led the review of the properties of the noble gases. 
As a verb, review can also mean to read, view, or look at something again.
  • Real-life examples: Someone putting together furniture will likely review the directions many times before they're done. A chef will review a recipe that they are trying for the first time to make sure they don’t make a mistake. A writer will review their work for errors or grammar mistakes before giving it to an editor.
  • Used in a sentence: Lola reviewed her letter to Santa Claus to make sure she included everything she wanted. 

Synonym Usage

Review, criticism imply careful examination of something, formulation of a judgment, and statement of the judgment, usually in written form. A review is a survey over a whole subject or division of it, or especially an article making a critical reconsideration and summary of something written: a review of the latest book on Chaucer. A criticism is a judgment, usually in an article, either favorable or unfavorable or both: a criticism of a proposed plan. The words are interchanged when referring to motion pictures or theater, but review implies a somewhat less formal approach than criticism in referring to literary works: movie reviews; play reviews; book reviews.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future


Etymology

Origin of review

First recorded in 1555–65; from Middle French revue, noun use of feminine past participle of revoir “to see again,” ultimately from Latin revidēre, equivalent to re- re- + vidēre “to see”; see view


Explanation

To review means to look back over something for evaluation or memory. "The year in review" is a popular form of news feature near the end of December. If your boss wants to give you a review, she wants to look over the history of your job performance. A doctor might review your medical record to help diagnose your sickness. The review of a book or movie often evaluates the work in question based on its strong and weak points, sometimes ending with a recommendation (or a dismissal). Before a big test, you might want to review ("brush up on") your notes.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing review

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Cornell, after initially defending its disciplinary measures, has acknowledged it fell short in its handling of her case and has hired a former attorney general to conduct an independent review of the case.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

A group of faculty pushed to delay the vote until Yates’s review concluded.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

The telephone triage system has already been scrapped by the Belfast Trust; it was to end within weeks in the Northern Trust and is under review in the Western Trust.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

The company said Thursday that a committee formed by its board to review the proposal found the offer substantially undervalues it and doesn’t reflect the growth potential of its turnaround plan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

But in 1790 the Supreme Court was a woefully weak third branch of the federal government and the principle of judicial review had yet to be established.

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

That latter bit is certainly true for filmmaker Taika Waititi, whose otherwise tacky-yet-progressive veneer cracked last weekend when he took to Instagram to condemn the poor reviews of his latest film, “Klara and the Sun.”

From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026

The reviews so far have gone some way to allaying his fear, with US outlet IGN calling it an "exceptional remake of an incredible game and a rich adventure that stands on its own".

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

Abbott had already put a halt on permit approvals pending state-agency reviews.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026

Authorities don’t intend to slow reviews of those two IPOs, but the companies won’t rush to list if market conditions are weak, according to people familiar with the listing plans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

It was where she wrote the rough drafts for the book reviews she posted on Book Scavenger.

From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

Walleye Capital also cut several stock picking portfolio managers this week after it suffered its worst month since March 2020, according to a letter from investors reviewed by The Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

She said the documents would be reviewed and in some instances may need to be redacted "for the purposes of avoiding prejudice to national security or international relations".

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

A coalition of tech giants and environmental groups is negotiating a national framework for data centers, according to a document reviewed by AFP on Thursday.

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

Beyond 2028, Israel would need approximately $10 billion to pay for outstanding orders as of April 1, according to a State Department document sent to Congress and reviewed by the Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

Otto reviewed his notes, bothered by something...some deduction...that eluded him.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles

Alan Schabes, a Cleveland lawyer who said Thursday he represents the Perfect Child, said he was still reviewing the lawsuit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

The Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Tuesday afternoon that it works closely with the district attorney’s office “throughout the investigative and judicial processes and respects its role in reviewing cases for filing consideration.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

A radiographer failed to flag her abnormal chest X-ray to anyone on the ward, and the doctor did not review it immediately because she was in A&E reviewing another child.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

We looked at data from 79 countries by reviewing studies published up to March 31, 2025.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026

Yet I went at it again, reviewing every picture, clip and comment for anything I might have missed.

From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin

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