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commentary definition

com·men·tary (käm′ən ter′ē)

noun pl. commentaries -·tar′·ies

  1. a series of explanatory notes or annotations, often forming a treatise on a text
  2. a series of remarks or observations, usually connected in a loose narrative
  3. something having the force of a comment, remark, or illustration
  4. a historical narrative based on personal experience Caesar's Commentaries

Etymology: L commentarius, notebook, annotation < commentari: see comment

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

commentary Synonyms

commentary

n.

  1. An exposition

    discourse, critique, editorial, analysis; see explanation 2, exposition 2, review 2.

  2. A comment

    criticism, explication, annotation, remark; see explanation 2, remark. See syn. study at remark.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

commentary Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • illuminate: This outline of the Wisdom teaching consists of extracts from the original literature with an illuminating commentary.

Adjective modifier

  • audio: For starters you get an audio commentary from the director giving an insight in what he was trying to achieve.

Preposition: on

  • Roman: Käsemann, Ernst, 1980: Commentary on Romans.

Modifies a noun

  • track: Due to the lack of a commentary track we don't know why these scenes were removed.

Noun used with modifier

  • crd: CRD commentary The review question was clear in terms of the study design, intervention, participants and outcomes.

Preposition: by

  • director: The extras include a commentary by the director and lead actor, a behind the scenes featurette and a picture gallery.
commentary usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

commentary quotes

We of the long tails! We of the presentient whiskers! We of the perpetually growing teeth! We, the serried footnotes to man, his proliferating commentary.We, indestructible!

-Grass, Gu«  nter Wilhelm

My entire soul is a cry, and all my work is a commentary on that cry.

-Kazantzakis, Nikos

commentary quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"commentary." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/commentary>

APA Style

commentary. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/commentary

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