judgmental
Americanadjective
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involving the use or exercise of judgment.
-
tending to make quick and excessively critical judgments, especially moral ones.
to avoid a judgmental approach in dealing with divorced couples.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of judgmental
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.
Vocabulary lists containing judgmental
You Be the Judge: Jud, Jur, Jus
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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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.
What unites them is the desire to move away from terms that are often seen as misogynistic or judgmental.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
"Why do we need judgmental words like failure or incompetence?" says obstetrician Dr Brooke Vandermolen, external.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
I started my T journey innocently enough, analyzing the #testosterone posts like a slightly judgmental anthropologist doing field research.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
I am, however, the kind of curious and not judgmental person who wants to see what has and hasn’t changed about these stories since “Bend It Like Beckham” became a sensation in 2002.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
He is not a prude, or judgmental, but he knows what he wants and lets nothing deter him.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
