critique
Americannoun
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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.
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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
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:
His critique focused on the “constitution” the company produced as a sort of set of rules for its AI bot, Claude.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
Following Lisandro Martinez's critique of the club's hierarchy last week, club captain Bruno Fernandes appeared to call out Carrick's tactics in Como, suggesting all is not well in the Old Trafford dressing room.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
The French UN mission apologized in September for the critique, a mea culpa that was well-received by Washington and cleared the way for Lechevallier's appointment.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
He is allergic to the presumption that anyone, including the Fed, can fine-tune the economy, and invoked the Lucas critique at one of his first news conferences.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
The last four pages are a detailed critique of the performance.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
Some critiques are well-intentioned, with a genuine concern the league is missing a golden opportunity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
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
In 2001, in response to such critiques, the Smithsonian convened a blue-ribbon commission of historians and others led by Richard Darman, a former top aide in Republican White Houses.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 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
Perhaps as a result, the most persuasive scientific critiques on Clovis initially came from fields that overlapped archaeology, but were mainly outside of it: linguistics, molecular biology, and geology.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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
Amodei has critiqued the AI industry’s safety, size and even Anthropic’s own models.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026
They were materials that he read, and he critiqued.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 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
Back then, it was about critiquing Black art for Black art’s sake and its possibilities, when today critical discussions seem to urgently hinge on Black art for the sake of its preservation.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2026
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
Some elements of the US press also criticised what they perceived as an endless desire for publicity – either in her messaging promoting peace or critiquing the art establishment.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 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
He flicks his rubber band as his eyes scan my body, mentally critiquing my lack of physical fortitude.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
