commentary

[kom-uhn-ter-ee]

noun

plural

commentaries 

1. a series of comments, explanations, or annotations.

   a commentary on the Bible; news followed by a commentary.

2. an explanatory essay or treatise.

   a commentary on a play; Blackstone's commentaries on law.

3. anything serving to illustrate a point, prompt a realization, or exemplify, especially in the case of something unfortunate.

   The dropout rate is a sad commentary on our school system.

4. Usually commentaries. records of facts or events.

   Commentaries written by Roman lawyers give us information on how their courts functioned.

commentary

/ ˌkɒmənˈtɛərɪəl, -trɪ, ˈkɒməntərɪ /

noun

1. an explanatory series of notes or comments

2. a spoken accompaniment to a broadcast, film, etc, esp of a sporting event

3. an explanatory essay or treatise on a text

4. (usually plural) a personal record of events or facts

   the commentaries of Caesar

Other Word Forms

• commentarial adjective
• supercommentary noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of commentary¹

1375–1425; late Middle English commentaries (plural) < Latin commentārium notebook, noun use of neuter of commentārius, equivalent to comment ( um ) comment + -ārius -ary

Example Sentences

The special hardcover edition of the seminal LGBTQ+ coming of age memoir includes commentary by Kobabe as well as other comic creators and scholars.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

For investors, the tone of bank commentary in the next earnings cycle will be an important barometer of real-world sentiment.

Read more on MarketWatch

Your commentary does give a picture of your psychic journey, not just “And then I made …”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A glimmer of hope, a door creaked slightly ajar, a creeping sense of "what if" drifting through the crowd and the commentary box - but in the end, Australia win.

Read more on BBC

Some recent online commentary points to a positive report on the stock from Morgan Stanley.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• comment 
• criticism 
• critique 
• description 
• explanation 
• narration 
• observation 
• remark 
• review 
• treatise