commentary

[ kom-uhn-ter-ee ]
See synonyms for commentary on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural com·men·tar·ies.
  1. a series of comments, explanations, or annotations: a commentary on the Bible; news followed by a commentary.

  2. an explanatory essay or treatise: a commentary on a play; Blackstone's commentaries on law.

  1. 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.

  2. Usually commentaries. records of facts or events: Commentaries written by Roman lawyers give us information on how their courts functioned.

Origin of commentary

1
1375–1425; late Middle English commentaries (plural) <Latin commentārium notebook, noun use of neuter of commentārius, equivalent to comment(um) comment + -ārius-ary

Other words from commentary

  • com·men·tar·i·al [kom-uhn-tair-ee-uhl], /ˌkɒm ənˈtɛər i əl/, adjective
  • su·per·com·men·tar·y, noun, plural su·per·com·men·tar·ies.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use commentary in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for commentary

commentary

/ (ˈkɒməntərɪ, -trɪ) /


nounplural -taries
  1. an explanatory series of notes or comments

  2. a spoken accompaniment to a broadcast, film, etc, esp of a sporting event

  1. an explanatory essay or treatise on a text

  2. (usually plural) a personal record of events or facts: the commentaries of Caesar

Derived forms of commentary

  • commentarial (ˌkɒmənˈtɛərɪəl), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012