critic
Americannoun
-
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.
-
Archaic.
noun
-
a person who judges something
-
a professional judge of art, music, literature, etc
-
a person who often finds fault and criticizes
Other Word Forms
Etymology
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
Explanation
A critic is someone who finds fault with something and expresses an unfavorable opinion. You might be a critic of your school’s new plan to start the school day at 6:30 a.m. The word critic came into English by way of Latin, tracing back to the Greek word krinein, meaning “judge, decide.” If you’re a critic, you’re essentially judging something — and finding it lacking. Critic can be used broadly to describe any person expressing an unfavorable view, but there are professional critics as well, such as people who review movies or music. In that sense, the word describes someone who thoughtfully assesses something, either favorably or negatively.
Vocabulary lists containing critic
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 7
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
This Week In Words: Current Events Vocab for March 6–12, 2021
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Should Dodge Ball Be Banned in Schools?"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
“It’s a symbiotic relationship between the studios and these restaurants,” said critic Matt Singer, who has reviewed tie-in menus for the film website ScreenCrush for more than a decade.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026
Trump announced Warsh — a former Fed governor turned Fed critic — as his pick for chair in January.
From MarketWatch • May 22, 2026
Welsh film critic Gary Slaymaker said he goes to morning screenings to avoid anti-social behaviour, which he claimed had got worse since the pandemic.
From BBC • May 21, 2026
The US president has long been a fierce critic of late-night talk show hosts and their jabs at him.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
The following day, social critic and sociologist Michael Eric Dyson published a critique of Obama’s speech in Time magazine.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
