critic

[krit-ik]

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.

critic

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• supercritic noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of critic¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of critic¹

C16: from Latin criticus, from Greek kritikos capable of judging, from kritēs judge; see _criterion

Example Sentences

His current form, his best start to a season since moving to Madrid, has silenced critics for now.

From BBC

Both the Hamas and Israeli delegations have powerful critics at home who want the war to continue.

From BBC

O’Neill has no training in medicine or healthcare and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in humanities, according to the Associated Press, and is a former investor who has been a critic of health regulations.

From Los Angeles Times

Kearns, who has been a vocal critic of China, said she was concerned the government was "putting our national security second" because it wanted to reset relations with Beijing.

From BBC

By bringing in a high‑profile critic of progressive media bias, CBS News can plausibly argue that it’s trying to include conservative perspectives.

From Salon

Related Words

• authority 
• cartoonist www.thesaurus.com
• commentator 
• expert 
• judge 
• pundit 
• reviewer