scrutinize
Americanverb (used with object)
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scrutinizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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scrutinized,
past participle, past
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scrutinizing
present participle
verb (used without object)
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scrutinizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scrutinized,
past participle, past
-
scrutinizing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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scrutinizationnoun
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scrutinizernoun
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rescrutinizeverb (used with object)
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self-scrutinizedadjective
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self-scrutinizingadjective
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unscrutinizedadjective
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unscrutinizingadjective
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scrutinizinglyadverb
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unscrutinizinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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scrutinizesimple
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scrutinizessimple
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have scrutinizedperfect
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has scrutinizedperfect
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am scrutinizingprogressive
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are scrutinizingprogressive
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is scrutinizingprogressive
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have been scrutinizingperfect progressive
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has been scrutinizingperfect progressive
Past
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scrutinizedsimple
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had scrutinizedperfect
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was scrutinizingprogressive
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were scrutinizingprogressive
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had been scrutinizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scrutinize
First recorded in 1665–75; scrutin(y) + -ize
Explanation
If you want to examine something closely and go over every single detail, then you should scrutinize it. Like the way your mom probably assesses your outfit before you leave the house for school. Scrutinizing is very different from glancing or gazing. It's even more than a long, hard look. To scrutinize something, you have to look at it really critically, investigating every nook and cranny. Often things are scrutinized to verify if they're correct or authentic. So it makes perfect sense that this verb is rooted in the Latin word scrutari, which means “to search.”
Vocabulary lists containing scrutinize
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A Raisin in the Sun
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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:
However, you live in a state where judges heavily scrutinize non-compete agreements, making them harder to enforce.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
During that time, people from every corner of the world online seemed to take every opportunity to scrutinize every contour of her frail frame.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026
Nandy suggested that Britain also should scrutinize the impact of combining two major streaming services, HBO Max, a Warner property, with Paramount+.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
Electoral officials will scrutinize the returns as they should, though independent media outlets have called it for Mr. de la Espriella.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Certainly it wasn’t my place to scrutinize God’s great plan, but what about the balancing scales of justice?
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
The probe is the first into a Chinese deal under the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation, which scrutinizes non-EU government support.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
After the exam, an analyst scrutinizes the results and decides whether or not they indicate deception or are inconclusive.
From Salon ● Nov. 18, 2025
Now, she is moving again—this time into the House of Lords, the United Kingdom’s unelected upper legislative chamber that scrutinizes, amends, and approves proposed legislation.
From Science Magazine ● May 10, 2024
“I felt so cared for by Lila. She scrutinizes you and that is a gift, because many directors take care of the form but do not take care of the substance.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2024
Simone scrutinizes me as I extend my arms, having come up from a long squat.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
Harry and Meghan’s U.K. return comes as British and American press are being scrutinized for their skewed coverage of Jason Arday, the youngest Black professor in Cambridge history.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
Morrow told the judge Thursday he didn’t believe his clients’ cases should be scrutinized solely because of the allegations dogging his firm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
"This is my last decision," James, who had made three prior heavily scrutinized free agent moves in his career, posted.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
While the details of the breach in Surfside Beach are still being scrutinized, cyber intruders have a typical toolbox for such crimes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
“The guards on the bridge will assume we passed through the embassy gate and had our papers scrutinized there.”
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
Both the pandemic and several waves of corporate layoffs since mean that many more people look like job hoppers these days—and that employers are scrutinizing their job history, recruiters say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
The food-safety scare has arrived as chains throw more discounts at consumers who are scrutinizing their budgets more carefully due to higher costs of living.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
The task force of Pima County detectives and FBI agents meets daily in a downtown Tucson office building, scrutinizing evidence, including each ransom note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Investors are now scrutinizing enterprise AI adoption and its impact on profits beyond hyperscalers and chip sectors.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
Brother and sister became rivals, each scrutinizing the other with eyes full of hatred, concocting fine-edged arguments to disqualify each other in Clara’s eyes, spying on each other, and growing ever more jealous.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
