What Is the Meaning of Judgemental?

The word "judgemental" is an alternate spelling of the word "judgmental." Depending on how the word is used, it can have both positive and negative connotations; however, generally speaking, labeling a person as judgmental is often considered a criticism.On the other hand, using the antonym and remarking that a person is "nonjudgmental" is usually considered a compliment.

Judgmental as in Lacking Judgment

The American Heritage Dictionary assigns two meanings to the word "judgmental." The first definition says, "of, relating to, or dependent on judgment as in a judgmental error"; here, the meaning is independent of the idea of criticism of others and refers, rather, to the idea that sound judgment was not used. As an example, consider the following statement: "It was a judgmental error to jump into the lake without knowing how deep it was."

Judgmental as in Critical

The second meaning for judgmental, given by the American Heritage Dictionary, is written as follows: "Inclined to make judgments, especially moral or personal ones." This definition agrees with the Collins Essential Dictionary, which defines judgmental as "Of or denoting an attitude in which judgments about other people's conduct are made." In fact, in the Collins Essential English Thesaurus, the synonyms given for judgmental are all negative in connotation, and include "condemnatory, self-righteous, censorious, and critical."

Examples

The poet Walt Whitman said, "Be curious, not judgmental" as advice in dealing with both individuals and ideas. Other writers have chosen the same connotation for the word. The writer Wayne Dyer said, "The more I give myself permission to live in the moment and enjoy it without feeling guilty or judgmental about any other time, the better I feel about the quality of my work. In her book, "Going Within," actress Shirley MacLaine writes, "We feel the urge to tell the truth as we see it. But we should try to accomplish this without judgmental condemnations that hurt others."

Etymology

According to Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, the word judgmental comes from a combination of root words and suffixes. "Judge" possibly comes from the Old French "jugier," which means "to judge" or from the Latin "judicare" that has the same meaning. The middle syllable possibly comes from the Old English word "deman," which means "to try and pronounce meaning on someone in a court." The suffix "al" at the end of the word means "pertaining to."

History

Although the word "judge" can be traced back nearly a thousand years, the word "judgmental," meaning critical of others, came into popular usage halfway through the twentieth century. The word "judgment" was used in the thirteenth century to mean God's pronouncement on the morality of human beings. It wasn't until the sixteenth century that the word was used in connection with forming opinions.

References

• The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition; 2009.
• Collins Essential English Dictionary 2nd Edition; 2006
• The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology by C.T. Onions, G. W. S. Friedrichsen, and R. W. Burchfield (Hardcover - Dec 31, 1966)

Resources

• Online Etmology Dictionary