commentary
noun
com·men·tary
ˈkä-mən-ˌter-ē 
-ˌte-rē
plural commentaries
1
a
: an explanatory treatise
—usually used in plural
Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England
b
: a record of events usually written by a participant
—usually used in plural
Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War
2
a
: a systematic series of explanations or interpretations (as of a writing)
a commentary on Dante's Divine Comedy
b
3
a
: something that serves for illustration or explanation
The dark, airless apartments and sunless factories … are a sad commentary upon our civilization.—
Harry Allen Overstreet
Harry Allen Overstreet
b
: an expression of opinion
The magazine article is a commentary on cyberbullying.
Examples of commentary in a Sentence
The television show features political commentary by well-known journalists.
The magazine includes humor and social commentary.
The book is a commentary on her experiences abroad.
I like listening to his social commentaries.
He provided commentary during the game.
The major television stations provided running commentaries on the election results.
Recent Examples on the Web
Lately, Gaines’ commentary has included spotlighting and vilifying transgender children and teens for their involvement in women’s and girls’ sports.
—Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
Editor’s Note: The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.
—Milad Haghani, CNN Money, 6 June 2025
Joel’s health struggles, which led to the cancellation of all of his stadium-filling concerts this year, made some of his commentary as filmed by directors Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin all the more poignant.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 6 June 2025
Cramer was satisfied with Masino’s commentary on the earnings call.
—Julie Coleman, CNBC, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for commentary
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
Editor’s Note: The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.
—Milad Haghani, CNN Money, 6 June 2025
Joel’s health struggles, which led to the cancellation of all of his stadium-filling concerts this year, made some of his commentary as filmed by directors Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin all the more poignant.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 6 June 2025
Cramer was satisfied with Masino’s commentary on the earnings call.
—Julie Coleman, CNBC, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for commentary
Cite this Entry
“Commentary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commentary. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
commentary
noun
com·men·tary
ˈkäm-ən-ˌter-ē
plural commentaries
: a series of comments or notes
also
: a book made up of such material
—usually used in plural
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