critique

/kɹɪˈtiːk/

//kɹɪˈtiːk// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"critique" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“critique” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,156. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,156
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
11
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The art of criticism.

Corpus desk

Index EN-critique · critique · English

critique · rank #9,156 · 11 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,156
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH convey

Nearest frequency peer: convey (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “critique”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “critique” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for critique
PropertyValue
Headwordcritique
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɹɪˈtiːk/
Letters8
Frequency rank#9,156
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “critique”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).critiquelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “convey” (#9,155), “crushing” (#9,157), “connects” (#9,154). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “critique” is #9,156. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around critique (IPA /kɹɪˈtiːk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,156 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for critique, with forms such as "ccritique", "cirtique", and "criitque". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from French critique, from New Latin critica (“critique”), feminine of criticus (“critical”); see critic. The correct English form is critique, spelled C-R-I-T-I-Q-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The art of criticism.
  2. 2
    An essay in which another piece of work is criticized, reviewed, etc.
  3. 3
    A point made to criticize something.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how critique appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I ſhould as ſoon expect to ſee a Critique on the Poſie of a Ring, as on the Inſcription of a Medal.
  2. I did not always agree with Malcolm X, specifically his critiques of Dr [Martin Luther] King and of the philosophy of nonviolent resistance.

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French critique, from New Latin critica (“critique”), feminine of criticus (“critical”); see critic.

Synonyms

animadversioncriticismcriticizationcritiquedressing-downhandbaggingslamstricture

Antonyms

accoladeapplauseencomiumplaudittribute

This word in other languages

crítica(Español)critique(Français)Kritik(Deutsch)crítica(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccritique
  • cirtique
  • criitque
  • critiqeu
  • critiqque
  • critiuqe
  • critqiue
  • crittique
  • crritique
  • crtiique
  • rcitique

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of critique - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ccritique1cirtique2criitque2critiqeu2critiqque1critiuqe2critqiue2crittique1
Edit distance from "critique"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "critique"?
"critique" is spelled C-R-I-T-I-Q-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹɪˈtiːk/.
What does "critique" mean?
As a noun, "critique" means: The art of criticism.
What are common misspellings of "critique"?
Common misspellings include "ccritique", "cirtique", "criitque", "critiqeu", "critiqque". The correct spelling is "critique".
How do you pronounce "critique"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "critique" is /kɹɪˈtiːk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "critique"?
Unadapted borrowing from French critique, from New Latin critica (“critique”), feminine of criticus (“critical”); see critic. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "critique", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

crushing#9,157connects#9,154cheering#9,147applause#9,136

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

allocated11 variantsagreeing11 variantsVermont11 variantstolerate11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list