"These Words" was generally very well received by contemporary pop music critics. PlayLouder's Daniel Robson described the song as a "compelling chunk of popply joy", while Allmusic wrote that the track was "near-perfect" and merged "the rhythms and flavors of hip-hop and R&B with unique melodies and Bedingfield's vocal confidence". The BBC called it a "classic love song" with a "really catchy tune", and commented that it was worthy of reaching number one on the UK singles chart. Josh Timmermann of "Stylus Magazine" called it "best single so far this year", and David Welsh of musicOMH.com wrote that the song had a "virally-infectious chorus and (relatively) clever wordplay."