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
-
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.
Critique the exposed hems as she turns on the runway.
From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026
"Critique is an essential part of science, and the basis for growth, innovation and evolution -- this is no less true for the field of cell therapy."
From Science Daily • Dec. 2, 2024
Critique: “As of this writing, Seattle hasn’t hit ‘smoke season’ — yet — this year.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 2, 2023
In the 1960s, artists like Hans Haacke started creating works that directly challenged museums themselves, sparking a movement known as Institutional Critique, which would go on to include works by Andrea Fraser and Louise Lawler.
From Washington Post • Oct. 27, 2022
He pored over the pages, as if he were a philosophy student attempting to understand Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
