critic
[ krit-ik ]
/ ˈkrɪt ɪk /
noun
a person who judges, evaluates, or criticizes: a poor critic of men.
a person who judges, evaluates, or analyzes literary or artistic works, dramatic or musical performances, or the like, especially for a newspaper or magazine.
a person who tends too readily to make captious, trivial, or harsh judgments; faultfinder.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
pundit, expert, cartoonist, authority, judge, reviewer, commentator, connoisseur, sharpshooter, arbiter, expositor, caricaturist, analyzer, evaluator, doubter, complainant, quibbler, caviler, censor, complainer
Nearby words
- crit,
- crit.,
- criteria,
- criterion,
- crithidia,
- critical,
- critical angle,
- critical apparatus,
- critical care unit,
- critical constant
Origin of critic
1575–85; < Latin criticus < Greek kritikós skilled in judging (adj.), critic (noun), equivalent to krī́t(ēs) judge, umpire (krī́(nein) to separate, decide + -tēs agent suffix) + -ikos -ic
SYNONYMS FOR critic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for critic
critic
/ (ˈkrɪtɪk) /
noun
a person who judges something
a professional judge of art, music, literature, etc
a person who often finds fault and criticizes
Word Origin for critic
C16: from Latin criticus, from Greek kritikos capable of judging, from kritēs judge; see criterion
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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critic
1580s, "one who passes judgment," from Middle French critique (14c.), from Latin criticus "a judge, literary critic," from Greek kritikos "able to make judgments," from krinein "to separate, decide" (see crisis). Meaning "one who judges merits of books, plays, etc." is from c.1600. The English word always had overtones of "censurer, faultfinder."
To understand how the artist felt, however, is not criticism; criticism is an investigation of what the work is good for. ... Criticism ... is a serious and public function; it shows the race assimilating the individual, dividing the immortal from the mortal part of a soul. [George Santayana, "The Life of Reason," 1906]
A perfect judge will read each work of wit
With the same spirit that its author writ;
[Pope, "An Essay on Criticism," 1709]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper