criticism

[krit-uh-siz-uhm]

noun

1. the act of passing judgment as to the merits of anything.

2. the act of passing severe judgment; censure; faultfinding.

   Synonyms: animadversion, stricture

3. the act or art of analyzing and evaluating or judging the quality of a literary or artistic work, musical performance, art exhibit, dramatic production, etc.

4. a critical comment, article, or essay; critique.

5. any of various methods of studying texts or documents for the purpose of dating or reconstructing them, evaluating their authenticity, analyzing their content or style, etc..

   historical criticism; literary criticism.

6. investigation of the text, origin, etc., of literary documents, especially Biblical ones.

   textual criticism.

criticism

/ ˈkrɪtɪˌsɪzəm /

noun

1. the act or an instance of making an unfavourable or severe judgment, comment, etc

2. the analysis or evaluation of a work of art, literature, etc

3. the occupation of a critic

4. a work that sets out to evaluate or analyse

5. Also called: textual criticism. the investigation of a particular text, with related material, in order to establish an authentic text

Other Word Forms

• countercriticism noun
• overcriticism noun
• precriticism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of criticism¹

First recorded in 1600–10; critic + -ism

Synonym Study

See review.

Example Sentences

Grewal has previously addressed criticisms about her gala jokes and her melding of business and politics.

From Los Angeles Times

Anything that suggests criticism of the Party, its leaders, or touches on controversial topics that have political implications, quickly disappears.

From BBC

“Just who do you think you are, killing thousands and flattening neighborhoods, then wrapping yourself in Judaism like it’s some shield from criticism?” she says.

From Los Angeles Times

However criticism about his suitability for the team environment has continued in the run-up to Bethpage.

From BBC

The album has received mostly strong reviews, but it’s been somewhat divisive all the same, facing more criticism than any other Big Thief album before.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• assessment 
• comment 
• critique 
• judgment 
• opinion 
• review