commentary

noun

com·​men·​tary ˈkä-mən-ˌter-ē 

-ˌte-rē

plural commentaries

1

a

: an explanatory treatise

—usually used in plural

Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England

b

: a record of events usually written by a participant

—usually used in plural

Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War

2

a

: a systematic series of explanations or interpretations (as of a writing)

a commentary on Dante's Divine Comedy

b

: comment sense 2

3

a

: something that serves for illustration or explanation

The dark, airless apartments and sunless factories … are a sad commentary upon our civilization.

—Harry Allen Overstreet

b

: an expression of opinion

The magazine article is a commentary on cyberbullying.

Synonyms

• analysis
• comment
• exposition
• play-by-play

Examples of commentary in a Sentence

The television show features political commentary by well-known journalists.

The magazine includes humor and social commentary.

The book is a commentary on her experiences abroad.

I like listening to his social commentaries.

He provided commentary during the game.

The major television stations provided running commentaries on the election results.

Recent Examples on the Web

The broadcast is airing on NASA TV, and on NASA’s website, and will include commentary from experts and astronauts on the International Space Station. —Quartz Staff, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2024

Nevertheless, Mulkey was right to bash the degrading, divisive and defamatory commentary published in the L.A. Times. —Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024

Along with your fellow class members, you're joined by a psychologist and cabin crew, and of course a pilot, who provides running commentary during the flight to explain in detail what is happening during each phase of the flight. —Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2024

This commentary was submitted by CVS Health as part of CVS Health’s sponsorship of Fortune Well. —David Joyner, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2024

The formula for her virality looked something like this: brutally honest observations divided by deadpan delivery plus beauty products minus the fluffy commentary that usually goes with them. —Dianna Mazzone Singh, Allure, 2 Apr. 2024

Mark Swed, in a blunt commentary for the Los Angeles Times, sees the situation as symptomatic of arts governance across the country. —Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2024

The session includes a virtual ground course with top phobia expert Lawrence Leyton and a senior easyJet captain to run through the unfamiliar sounds and sensations on aircrafts, and teach different techniques to cope with nervousness, plus a one-hour long flight with a live commentary. —Olivia Morelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Mar. 2024

Users frequently leverage TikTok features to add commentary to his posts in mocking ways. —Anjali Huynh, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

see comment entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

commentary

noun

com·​men·​tary ˈkäm-ən-ˌter-ē 

plural commentaries

: a series of comments or notes

also : a book made up of such material

—usually used in plural