criticize
Americanverb (used with object)
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criticizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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criticized,
past participle, past
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criticizing
present participle
verb (used without object)
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criticizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
criticized,
past participle, past
-
criticizing
present participle
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to find fault; judge unfavorably or harshly.
-
to make judgments as to merits and faults.
verb
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to judge (something) with disapproval; censure
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to evaluate or analyse (something)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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criticizernoun
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overcriticizeverb
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precriticizeverb (used with object)
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recriticizeverb (used with object)
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criticizableadjective
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noncriticizingadjective
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uncriticizableadjective
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uncriticizedadjective
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uncriticizingadjective
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well-criticizedadjective
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criticizinglyadverb
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uncriticizablyadverb
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uncriticizinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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criticizesimple
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criticizessimple
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have criticizedperfect
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has criticizedperfect
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am criticizingprogressive
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are criticizingprogressive
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is criticizingprogressive
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have been criticizingperfect progressive
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has been criticizingperfect progressive
Past
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criticizedsimple
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had criticizedperfect
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was criticizingprogressive
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were criticizingprogressive
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had been criticizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of criticize
Explanation
To criticize is to find what's wrong with something, like the improbabilities in a movie's plot line, or double standards in your father's rules. The verb criticize comes from the noun, critic, and means "to act like a critic." A critic is someone who judges, and that doesn't have to mean negative judgment (think of a glowing movie review from a movie critic), but when we use criticize we always mean finding what's wrong, instead of what's good, with something. If your friend is just learning to bake, don't criticize his first batch of burned cookies too harshly; he'll just give up.
Vocabulary lists containing criticize
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 3
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 2
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The New SAT: The Language of the Test
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Billionaires like New York Knicks owner James L. Dolan reportedly use spying tech to harass people who criticize them.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Ms. Watson does criticize the AI models now available for offering digestible but sometimes off-the-mark answers to our various small-beer queries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Cubans who once feared government reprisals now criticize the country's leaders and have taken to banging pots and pans in regular nighttime protests.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Castle said that, while he might criticize some of the government agency’s numbers or methodologies, he believes in the importance of the USDA, saying it’s “still the envy of the world in this sector.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
“I would never criticize our Spirit Medium,” said the elder who had told the baboon story, “but he has never been good at poetry.”
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
The 47 executions nationwide last year were the most since 2009, according to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center, or DPI, which takes no position on capital punishment but criticizes problems it identifies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
The piece also criticizes media and academic discussions that portray Latino men and Latinas as politically opposed blocs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
The Book of Jubilees, one of the important works preserved in the Qumran library, strongly criticizes the prevailing lunar calendar.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
He criticizes DHS’s “conclusory or dismissive” responses to the 22,000 public comments it received about the proposal.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
The writer criticizes “today’s youth” from head to toe, though without dismissing them all as “hopeless cases.”
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
Vance said he was “disgusted”—not by the disgusting ad, but by the Republicans who criticized it and who should instead “stop whining.”
From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2026
Bass, in turn, has criticized county officials for pulling more than $300 million out of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority — a move largely spearheaded by Horvath.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
Oprah Winfrey criticized the company for the early representational oversight; she later celebrated Addy’s release on an episode of her television show.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
By doing that, they avoided being criticized for a lack of preparation and having to look for names on an index card.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
Henry Metelmann’s teacher criticized a boy who held out.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
An artificial intelligence model developed by Anthropic submitted a fabricated tip about an unsolved homicide to Philadelphia police, authorities said Friday, criticizing the company for taking two months to report the incident.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
And if she had gotten all the lifts and tucks we expect of a TV star, we’d be criticizing her for that too.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026
Packers tight end Tucker Kraft is taking heat on social media after criticizing Green Bay fans for booing during a blowout loss to Atlanta.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
The WSJ’s Jon Emont reports that the Group of 20 issued a statement this week implicitly criticizing Beijing for its overreliance on exports for growth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
He would ride me in a joking way in the room, criticizing my housecleaning or the way I wore my uniform.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
