commentary
Americannoun
plural
commentaries-
a series of comments, explanations, or annotations.
a commentary on the Bible; news followed by a commentary.
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an explanatory essay or treatise.
a commentary on a play; Blackstone's commentaries on law.
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anything serving to illustrate a point, prompt a realization, or exemplify, especially in the case of something unfortunate.
The dropout rate is a sad commentary on our school system.
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Usually commentaries. records of facts or events.
Commentaries written by Roman lawyers give us information on how their courts functioned.
noun
-
an explanatory series of notes or comments
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a spoken accompaniment to a broadcast, film, etc, esp of a sporting event
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an explanatory essay or treatise on a text
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(usually plural) a personal record of events or facts
the commentaries of Caesar
Other Word Forms
- commentarial adjective
- supercommentary noun
Etymology
Origin of commentary
1375–1425; late Middle English commentaries (plural) < Latin commentārium notebook, noun use of neuter of commentārius, equivalent to comment ( um ) comment + -ārius -ary
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.
Management made positive commentary about the domestic economy earlier this month, “representing a shift from several quarters of emphasizing persistent macro softness, though geopolitical risks remain a consideration,” Kuhn says.
Outsider art in every sense of the word, and laden with scathing political and social commentary, Purifoy’s installations morph and change in the elements.
From Los Angeles Times
Its total addressable market expansion in mid-2025 and commentary around bookings growth on the latest earnings call mark a shift from recovery to what Visser described as “compounding acceleration”
From Barron's
Nevertheless, his message dovetailed with some fresh commentary noting how erstwhile darlings of Big Tech, in particular, have been so badly hit that they are now highly attractive.
From MarketWatch
“The conflict involving Iran shows little sign of de-escalating,” StoneX’s Matt Simpson said in commentary.
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.
