critic

American  

[krit-ik] / ˈkrɪt ɪk /

noun

1. a person who judges, evaluates, or criticizes.

   a poor critic of men.

2. a person who judges, evaluates, or analyzes literary or artistic works, dramatic or musical performances, or the like, especially for a newspaper or magazine.

   Synonyms:

   judge, reviewer

3. a person who tends too readily to make captious, trivial, or harsh judgments; faultfinder.

   Synonyms:

   carper, censurer

4. Archaic.

   1. criticism.

   2. critique.

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critic British  

/ ˈkrɪtɪk /

noun

1. a person who judges something

2. a professional judge of art, music, literature, etc

3. a person who often finds fault and criticizes

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Other Word Forms

• supercritic noun

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

Example Sentences

But even among the government's critics, there are deep differences over this war and its impact.

From BBC

The idea behind implementing the caps on parent and graduate loans was to eliminate what critics had said was essentially an unlimited source of funds for schools that gave them room to raise tuition.

From MarketWatch

Early in 2025, multiple observers highlighted the Sphere's ongoing struggle to make money and one critic was left "confused and slightly dismayed" by their visit.

From BBC

But there are plenty of critics, with technology experts and child wellbeing advocates saying children need to be educated on the potential harms on the platforms rather than banned from them.

From BBC

Woodrow Wilson jailed war critics, put enemy aliens under tight constraints, and prohibited the dissemination of antiwar materials through the mail.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• authority
• cartoonist
• commentator
• expert
• judge
• pundit
• reviewer