critique

1 of 2

noun

cri·​tique krə-ˈtēk 

kri-

: 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

critique

2 of 2

verb

critiqued; critiquing

transitive verb

: to examine critically : review

critique the plan

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

Noun

• criticism
• review

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

Noun

Crime is on a steady decline across the board over the past 18 months in Oakland, where city leaders previously had struggled to fend off conservative critiques of a spike in violence and burglaries during the COVID-19 pandemic. —Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2025

Another critique is known as elicitation: the hypothesis that reinforcement learning doesn’t actually endow AI models with greater intelligence but rather just elicits capabilities that the base model already possessed. —Rob Toews, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2025

Verb

The panel further critiqued the commissioner as in a conflicted position to arbitrate. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 14 Aug. 2025

However, a significant amount of people critiqued whether or not the room makeover was appropriate for a school setting. —Vibe, VIBE.com, 11 Aug. 2025

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

Phrases Containing critique

• self-critique

Rhymes for critique

• antique
• batik
• bespeak
• boutique
• cacique
• comique
• grosbeak
• midweek
• mystique
• oblique
• physique
• pratique

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Kids Definition

critique

1 of 2 noun

cri·​tique

krə-ˈtēk

: an act or instance of criticizing

especially : a critical estimate or discussion

critique

2 of 2 verb

critiqued; critiquing

: to examine critically : review

critiqued the plan