commentary
KOM-uhn-tair-ee
/ˈkɑː.mən.ter.i/
A series of explanatory notes, observations, or live narrative analysis on an event, text, or issue.
Covers both real-time narrative (e.g., sports commentary) and reflective analytical writing on political or cultural developments.
The story behind the word. From Latin 'commentarius', meaning a notebook, brief memo, or collection of notes. Ancient scholars used commentaries as marginal notes in manuscripts to clarify difficult texts.
Word relationships
- analysis: Analysis breaks down data scientifically, while commentary expresses interpretive thoughts.
- critique: Critique evaluates quality or merits; commentary explains or reflects on ongoing actions.
- silence: Absence of narrative or expression.
Commonly confused with
- comment: A comment is a single brief remark; commentary is a sustained series of explanatory thoughts.
Word family
- commentator (noun): A person who provides commentary on events.
- commentate (verb): To act as a commentator.
Collocations
- running commentary
- social commentary
- political commentary
- provide commentary
Example sentences
- "The veteran broadcast analyst provided insightful running commentary throughout the historic presidential debates." Broadcasting
- "Julius Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War remains a classic historical text detailing military campaign maneuvers." Classical Literature
Memory hook
COMMENT-ary: A whole DIRECTORY of COMMENTS about an event. Explanatory Notes
When not to use
Do not use for brief headline announcements or raw factual bullet-point data.
Fun facts
- In the Middle Ages, commentary written in book margins grew so extensive that it often took up more page space than the original text.
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