value judgment

American  

noun

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

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value judgment British  

noun

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

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value judgment Cultural  

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.

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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.

Etymology

Origin of value judgment

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

That isn’t a value judgment on Mr. Musk, his businesses or wealth.

From Barron's • Dec. 23, 2025

Leaving more food behind for other animals is, for them, a value judgment.

From Slate • Feb. 4, 2024

Within them, there is not a value judgment on them.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 15, 2023

But the exhibition, organized by Nick Irvin, resists indulging in sordidness or levying a value judgment, a pose that can feel admirably openhearted or frustratingly oblique.

From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2023

It is, as usual, the psychological characteristics of the value judgment that attract Dewey's attention.

From John Dewey's logical theory by Howard, Delton Thomas