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)
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scrutinized,
past participle, past
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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:
He said the district also must scrutinize its own spending, including ensuring “major construction and capital projects are completed responsibly.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
But in her candidate statement, Hawks said she would use the treasurer’s oversight role to scrutinize how taxpayer money is managed, advocate for responsible investing and push for greater accountability over state finances.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
In the past six months, other administration officials have grown concerned about how far the technology has come, and how little the administration initially did to scrutinize it, people familiar with the matter said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Ask people to scrutinize food companies, labels and regulatory assumptions, and eventually they will scrutinize the regulators, too.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
We scrutinize the field all day with glasses, but discover nothing.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
She scrutinizes every element of her tour looking for ways to be more environmentally conscious.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025
And instead of simply presenting these characters to an audience, as “Death of a Unicorn” does, the series scrutinizes them.
From Salon ● Apr. 4, 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
In a shady alley, he lifts the tops of two water tanks, gets a flashlight and scrutinizes the surface for any sign of mosquito larvae.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2024
Instead, she looks back down at the bin and scrutinizes each object for clues, for some bit of information to store away and examine later.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
Those measures will be closely scrutinized by activists and protesters alike.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
Fans scrutinized the British soul singer Lola Young when they discovered that her relative is the famed children’s book author Julia Donaldson.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
While that is accurate, statements like this make the conflict seem normal and perhaps unavoidable, rather than the result of a linked set of decisions that might themselves be scrutinized.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
Harris’ level of security has previously been scrutinized.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
Apparently satisfied no one else was there, they scrutinized Jonathan.
From "The Fighting Ground" by Avi
But unlike the show it’s scrutinizing, “Primetime” lets its prey walk free.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
The State IG is busy scrutinizing embassies, much as the Agriculture IG focuses on food-stamp fraud.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The measure would also bring drones under the arms restriction regime and increase the number of experts scrutinizing the existing embargo.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
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
On my left, Audrey Dorn sat at her desk, scrutinizing me.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
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.
