critique
Americannoun
-
critiques
plural
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an article or essay criticizing a literary or other work; detailed evaluation; review.
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a criticism or critical comment on some problem, subject, etc.
-
the art or practice of criticism.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a critical essay or commentary, esp on artistic work
-
the act or art of criticizing
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of critique
First recorded in 1695–1705; from French, from Greek kritikḗ “the art of criticism,” noun use of feminine of kritikós “critical, skilled in judging”; replacing critic
Explanation
As a verb, critique means to review or examine something critically. As a noun, a critique is that review or examination, like an art essay or a book report. The French version of this word is spelled the same (meaning "the art of criticism") and came from the Greek kritike tekhne ("the critical art"). This shouldn't come as a great surprise, since it was the Greeks who gave us such masters of the critique as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Today, through book reports, argument papers, and critical essays, we carry on the tradition of the critique, which is one of the most important skills we'll ever learn in school.
Vocabulary lists containing critique
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 3
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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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:
And they recognize the fundamental truth in the critique.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
But they help explain the sense of economic disillusionment that has made his old critique newly resonant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
His only critique is that CTA lobbying in Sacramento should be better connected to ground-level demands, a goal that CTA leadership has been working toward, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Reflecting on the Commons debate, the Daily Express summarises Badenoch's critique of Burnham's "nationalisation drive".
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
“It’s impossible to critique CJ’s work because it’s always mangled, glued together like this. I mean, we’re talking serious Humpty Dumpty every time.”
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
Blow, who has not responded to these critiques publicly, tells me he instead decided to "sit down and focus on the games".
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
University police departments are police departments, despite critiques of this model.
From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2026
Beyond his cultural critiques, Berry wrote notable novels including “The Memory of Old Jack,” “Jayber Crow” and “Hannah Coulter.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Even if you did not like the political observations of some of those magazines, essays, critiques, poetry or whatever was in ther, these are feelings from the people, and they’re protected under the First Amendment.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
Jesse read every column I wrote, sending critiques, offering ideas.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
Some have critiqued the low rate of serious findings from full-body scans, and Neko’s own research found that only about 1% of asymptomatic users in Sweden found anything life-threatening.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Last year, Dolly critiqued AI content when clearing rumors surrounding her health, which swirled online after sister Freida Parton asked the public for prayers in a Facebook post on Oct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Few works of American literature are as extensively analyzed and critiqued for their impact, for good or ill, on our cultural mythmaking.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
Legg's paper critiqued research published by Microsoft in 2025.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
In the tiny classrooms, students gathered around conference tables and critiqued the concept of America as a shining city on a hill, or compared the writings of Charles Darwin and Ursula K. Le Guin.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
The artist has opened his own Chanel pop-up store where plywood dresses simultaneously honor the brand while critiquing consumer culture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Roberts’ opinion for the court, despite being well-written and legally correct, resists critiquing the original order with the forcefulness this issue deserves.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
Page Six reported that Janet and Jermaine got into a spat, with Janet critiquing almost every scene.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
Born in Shanghai, the 40-year-old cartoonist has lived in Australia since 2009 and earned a reputation for artworks critiquing Beijing and Xi.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026
“I was critiquing Travis’s first story,” Lydia said.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
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.
