commentate
Americanverb (used with object)
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commentates,
present (3rd person singular)
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commentated,
past participle, past
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commentating
present participle
-
to deliver a commentary on.
to commentate a fashion show.
-
to write a commentary on; annotate.
to commentate the Book of Job.
verb (used without object)
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commentates,
present (3rd person singular)
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commentated,
past participle, past
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commentating
present participle
-
to serve as a commentator.
The senior staff member will commentate, as usual.
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to make explanatory or critical comments, as upon a text.
the manuscript on which I am commentating.
verb
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(intr) to serve as a commentator
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(tr) to make a commentary on (a text, event, etc)
Usage
The verb commentate, derived from commentator, is sometimes used as a synonym for comment on or provide a commentary for. It is not yet fully accepted as standard, though widespread in sports reporting and journalism
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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commentatesimple
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commentatessimple
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have commentatedperfect
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has commentatedperfect
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am commentatingprogressive
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are commentatingprogressive
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is commentatingprogressive
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have been commentatingperfect progressive
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has been commentatingperfect progressive
Past
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commentatedsimple
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had commentatedperfect
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was commentatingprogressive
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were commentatingprogressive
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had been commentatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of commentate
First recorded in 1785–95; back formation from commentator
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:
But commentators gotta commentate, and the time off in the woods has not mellowed Carlson.
From New York Times ● Jun. 7, 2023
Hard to believe he will not be commentating on another Welsh rugby season which starts this weekend in which Shanklin was due to commentate alongside Butler.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2022
“There’s no one single solution to the problem,” said Swangard, the sports marketing expert who during the world championships will commentate for NBC Sports.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2022
It has also postponed an event he was due to commentate at, in his honour.
From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2022
Surely nobody in their right mind would have let Luna Lovegood commentate?
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Journalist Lizzie Dearden, who commentates on home affairs issues and is an expert on the far-right in the UK, says Southport is not the first incident that has been used to fuel far-right agendas.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2024
She’s the “famed” announcer who commentates on the everyday life things.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2023
McEnroe is a familiar presence on ESPN, where he often commentates alongside his older brother, John.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 31, 2020
I’m a 26-year-old blind individual who color commentates baseball games,’ ” Iacovone said.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 26, 2019
“I hope Luna always commentates from now on...Loser’s Lurgy...”
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Macpherson, now 90, commentated on Scottish football for over four decades, including many of Law's matches.
From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2025
He commentated on every Summer and Winter Olympic Games between 1992 and 2014.
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2024
Woolley is the man who has commentated on more than 1,000 Ipswich games for BBC Radio Suffolk.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2023
Norton has commentated on Eurovision for British television since 2009, and he is known for gently poking fun at the more outrageous performances and the horrendously complicated voting process.
From New York Times ● May 13, 2023
And the third commandment sifted and commentated, all the causes of sin against it droned out, she again looked toward the bed.
From An Eagle Flight A Filipino Novel Adapted from Noli Me Tangere by Rizal, José
Former England fast bowler Steven Finn, commentating on TNT, said it was "completely brainless".
From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2026
Vaughan, who is in Australia commentating on the Ashes, was locked inside a restaurant "a few hundred yards from Bondi" for several hours alongside his wife, sister-in-law, two daughters, and a friend.
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2025
"It was the largest city in western Europe, with a population of over half a million, and it had an ebullient print media that was constantly commentating on the fashions and follies of the age."
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2025
Mark Scott: I'm commentating at the Bridge on Sunday and Estevao is the player I'm most excited about seeing.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2025
“He is really struggling here. We have never seen him choke this badly in all of our commentating from his head!”
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
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.
