commentator
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
someone who describes a live event, like a football match, for people watching or listening.
a broadcaster who provides a live, spoken description of an event as it unfolds.
Simple“The sports commentator got very excited when the player scored a goal in the final minute.”
In context“The veteran commentator provided a seamless play-by-play account of the match, balancing technical analysis with the raw emotion of the stadium atmosphere.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
an expert who gives their opinion and explains news or political events to the public.
a person who provides systematic analysis or opinion on a particular subject, often in the media.
Simple“She is a well-known political commentator who often appears on the evening news.”
In context“Social commentators have noted that the shift in public discourse is largely driven by the rapid expansion of digital media platforms.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
a scholar who writes explanations and notes about old laws or books.
a scholar who writes a series of explanatory notes or a detailed treatise on a specific text or legal code.
Simple“The student studied the writings of a famous legal commentator from the 18th century.”
In context“The medieval commentator provided extensive glosses on the margins of the manuscript to clarify the complex theological arguments within the main text.”
UsageOften refers to historical figures like Blackstone in English law.
Synonyms
“But since coming out as non-binary in 2017, the British singer has frequently been attacked and vilified by rightwing commentators.”
“For years, commentators have asked whether Argos could build a business to take on Amazon, the biggest online seller in the UK.”
In form, from Middle English commentator, from Latin commentātor (“author, inventor, interpreter, jailer”), from commentātus + -or (“-er: forming agent nouns”), from commentāri (“to ponder, to study, to write upon”), from comminīscor (“to think over, to invent”) + -tārī (“to frequently be ~ed”). In meaning, influenced by comment and commentary. By surface analysis, comment + -ator.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.