critique
Americannoun
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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.
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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
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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.
There are some parts of Ms. Kenny’s critique of modern schooling that are completely correct.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026
Former public accounts minister Amelie de Montchalin in February became the country's top auditor, after criticism she could not critique a budget that she was involved in drafting.
From Barron's • May 5, 2026
Piker addressed it at the time — acknowledging it as a hyperbolic critique of American foreign policy and saying he should have used more precise language.
From Salon • May 2, 2026
Between cultural anxiety and economic critique, fish has become more than a staple; it is now shorthand for everything the rivals say is at stake.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
And it implied a startling critique of the academy’s tendency toward parochialism.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
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.
