Definition of CRITIQUED (original) (raw)
: an act of criticizing
especially : a critical (see critical sense 1c) estimate or discussion
a critique of the poet's work
an honest critique of her art
Did you know?
What’s the difference between criticism and critique? There’s some overlap in meaning, but they’re not the same in every situation. Criticism is most often used broadly to refer to the act of negatively criticizing someone or something (“I’m more interested in encouragement right now than criticism”) or a remark or comment that expresses disapproval (“She shared a minor criticism about the design”), while critique is a more formal word for a carefully expressed judgment, opinion, or evaluation of both the good and bad qualities of something—for example, books or movies. Thus, a critic can write a critique that may be full of criticism.
Synonyms
Examples of critique in a Sentence
Noun
She wrote a radical critique of the philosopher's early essays. They gave a fair and honest critique of her art. Verb
The class convened to critique the student's latest painting.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Both offer a critique of bedside manner; patients that, seemingly fine, suddenly lose consciousness; red herrings, dead ends and wrong trees to bark up. —
Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2025 Beginning with texts written in the 1970s, this reading list shows how the major questions, critiques, and debates developed in the field of feminist art history. —JSTOR Daily, 8 Jan. 2025
The Marxist German playwright was largely critiquing the city’s culture. —James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Jan. 2025 Taste five wines blind, critique them and turn in your results for a chance to win a seat at an upcoming THE Rose Competition’s judging table. —Peg San Felippo, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for critique 
Word History
Etymology
Noun
borrowed from French, borrowed from Latin critica "evaluation of literary works," borrowed from Greek kritikḗ noun derivative from feminine of kritikós "discerning, capable of judging" — more at critic entry 1
Verb
derivative of critique entry 1
First Known Use
Noun
1679, in the meaning defined above
Verb
1752, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of critique was in 1679
Dictionary Entries Near critique
Cite this Entry
“Critique.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/critique. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
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Last Updated: 14 Jan 2025 - Updated example sentences
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