value judgment

noun

1. an estimate, usually subjective, of the worth, quality, goodness, evil, etc., of something or someone.

value judgment

noun

1. a subjective assessment based on one's own code of values or that of one's class

value judgment

1. An assessment of a person, situation, or event. The term is often restricted to assessments that reveal the values of the person making the assessment rather than the objective realities of what is being assessed.

We often make value judgments without realizing that we are doing so. For example, a teacher who describes a student as “the best I've ever taught — very polite and obedient” is making a value judgment about the qualities (politeness and obedience) that make a student good.

Word History and Origins

Origin of value judgment¹

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Like it or not, those terms have value judgments attached to them that can be hard to square with the mounting evidence that microchimeric cells might do more good than harm.

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Opened in 1914, the canal reminds us that the linkages we impose on the landscape are not neutral or necessarily equitable but entail value judgments as well as winners and losers.

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The spirit of the Ojai festival need not be conveyed by a laundry list of composers and works or by value judgments.

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What political scientists describe as affective/negative polarization describes how political disagreements are increasingly existential value judgments where “the other side” is not just wrong but evil.

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The team found that CAs make value judgments about certain identities -- such as gay and Muslim -- and can be encouraging of identities related to harmful ideologies, including Nazism.

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