critique
Americannoun
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an article or essay criticizing a literary or other work; detailed evaluation; review.
-
a criticism or critical comment on some problem, subject, etc.
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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
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.
The essay of more than 5,600 words is Sir Tony's first in-depth critique of Sir Keir's government.
From BBC • May 26, 2026
The two auteurs share a flair for spinning societal critique into maniacal physical comedy.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
The irony of the Daily Wire’s historical excursion is that Walsh has stumbled into an approximation of the very historical critique that critical race theorists have advanced for decades.
From Salon • May 20, 2026
When Lululemon took those steps on Monday morning, it included a harsh critique of Wilson.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
He never told me that they could be funny, or that they could critique their own faction from the inside.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
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.
