commentary
Americannoun
plural
commentaries-
a series of comments, explanations, or annotations.
a commentary on the Bible; news followed by a commentary.
-
an explanatory essay or treatise.
a commentary on a play; Blackstone's commentaries on law.
-
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.
-
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
-
a spoken accompaniment to a broadcast, film, etc, esp of a sporting event
-
an explanatory essay or treatise on a text
-
(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.
You can watch the live stream on the BBC News website, which will also host running text commentary from the ceremony.
From BBC
The broadcast generated global headlines and much commentary on what happened and and how it could have been prevented.
From BBC
He calls the 30% reduction in staff in favor of artificial intelligence “a surprise positive”, and flags company commentary that the integration of its US$2.1 billion E2Open acquisition is ahead of schedule.
She is joined, yet again, by Courteney Cox’s intrusive newscaster, Gale Weathers, who is in all seven films and is meant to serve as a satiric commentary on journalism’s obsession with blood and gore.
Analyst Siraj Ahmed tells clients in a note that management commentary suggests the complexity and newness of the product concept means more time will be needed to drive broader adoption.
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.
