editorial

American  

[ed-i-tawr-ee-uhl, -tohr-] / ˌɛd ɪˈtɔr i əl, -ˈtoʊr- /

noun

• editorials
  plural

1. an article in a newspaper or other periodical or on a website presenting the opinion of the publisher, writer, or editor.

2. a statement broadcast on radio or television that presents the opinion of the owner, manager, or the like, of the program, station, or channel.

3. something regarded as resembling such an article or statement, as a lengthy, dogmatic utterance.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the commissioning or compiling of content for publication, or to a person who does such work.

   editorial policies;

   editorial skills.

2. of, relating to, or involved in the preparation of an editorial or editorials.

   editorial page;

   editorial writer.

3. of or relating to the literary and artistic activities or contents of a publication, broadcasting organization, or the like, as distinguished from its business activities, advertisements, etc..

   an editorial employee; an editorial decision, not an advertising one.

editorial British  

/ ˌɛdɪˈtɔːrɪəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to editing or editors

2. of, relating to, or expressed in an editorial

3. of or relating to the content of a publication rather than its commercial aspects

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noun

1. an article in a newspaper, etc, expressing the opinion of the editor or the publishers

editorial Cultural  

1. An article in a newspaper or magazine expressing the opinion of the editor or publisher.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• editorialist
  noun
• noneditorial
  adjective
• preeditorial
  adjective
• pseudoeditorial
  adjective
• editorially
  adverb
• noneditorially
  adverb
• preeditorially
  adverb
• pseudoeditorially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• editorials
  plural

Etymology

Origin of editorial

First recorded in 1735–45; editor + -ial

Explanation

An editorial is an article that expresses the opinion of the person who or organization that wrote it. The president of the Llama Lovers Club wrote a scathing editorial in the Llama Times newspaper to protest the rash of llama thefts in her area. Open up any newspaper, and you'll see page after page of articles. Most of these articles were written by journalists who assembled and reported the facts of the story. On the editorial page, however, you'll find nothing but opinion. That opinion might come from the editor of the paper, a local politician, or a concerned citizen who has found some important issue to discuss. Editorial can also refer to the editor of the paper, whose editorial decisions determine which articles — and editorials appear in each edition.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

editorial editorials

Whether the added punctuation has the effect the author imagines, she’s not wrong to point out that editorial decisions, once made, tend “to stick, informing how future readers will interpret a story or character.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

A Globe and Mail editorial in May described Hoekstra as being "keen to channel his boss’s aggressive boorishness."

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

“Though outspoken and at times overly aggressive, Bycel has made an important contribution to political reform here in Los Angeles,” The Times said in an editorial.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Now, at CBS News, her editorial interference has been disguised as routine management.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

Newspapers shirk notoriously their editorial responsibilities and print what they think their readers want.

From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin

He bought newspaper ads and solicited favorable editorials, appealing to Americans’ patriotic sympathies.

From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026

He took over the paper in the 1980s, and his columns, which he describes as “hard-hitting editorials that defend the rights of the Armenian people worldwide,” have been translated into languages around the world.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2026

Ongoing is a retrospective of Swinton’s roles in films like Orlando, Suspiria, and The Room Next Door; her relationships with directors like Derek Jarman and Luca Guadagnino and iconic fashion editorials shot by Tim Walker.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025

Newspaper editorials, of course, rarely have much impact, especially these days, when no newspaper, not even the Times, struts the stage of mass media with the august authority it once held.

From Slate ● Dec. 19, 2025

The newspapers took up the cause in outraged editorials; the law stepped in.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

Related Words

• article
• critique
• opinion
• report
• review