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What is the meaning of "judgmental comments" and where can it be used?

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closed as general reference by tchrist, Kris, Mahnax, RegDwigнt Aug 23 '12 at 10:22


2 Answers 2

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A judgmental comment is one that is directed in a personal way about someone's behavior, life choices, attitudes, and so on.

I got really tired of Jim making judgmental comments about my ability to drive.

The judgmental comment in that case, might have been something like:

Jim, can't you keep the freakin' car on the road? My little sister just learned how to drive and even she can do it.

Here's the sense in which it's used, from The Free Dictionary:

judg·men·tal (jj-mntl) adj. 1. Of, relating to, or dependent on judgment: a judgmental error. 2. Inclined to make judgments, especially moral or personal ones: a marriage counselor who tries not to be judgmental.

The second entry is the one used most often regarding comments made by others.

By the way, if someone ever accuses you of being judgmental, the best response is simply to ask them: "Is there something wrong with being judgmental?" Which puts them in a bind, because to answer that question affirmatively, they have to make a judgmental statement. Enjoy.

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Judgmental comments, often try to generalize conclusions from limited experience to almost all of them. Example:

Some of his best friends are drug dealers, he must be into drugs also.

Here, though there is no clear evidence that the person, referred here, is 'into' drugs still a conclusion is made about his drug habits based on conclusions about his friend circle.

Of course, judgmental comments need not always have negative colors about them, they can also be positive:

She is a good girl as she is a daughter of wonderful people.

You might want to read more here.

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