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Synonyms

criticism

American  
[krit-uh-siz-uhm] / ˈkrɪt əˌsɪz əm /

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 British  
/ 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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See review.

Other Word Forms

  • countercriticism noun
  • overcriticism noun
  • precriticism noun

Etymology

Origin of criticism

First recorded in 1600–10; critic + -ism

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.

The department has faced criticism from survivors and lawmakers from across the aisle for its failure to meet that deadline.

From BBC

She said that, in response to criticism in recent days, the audio dialogue had been removed.

From Los Angeles Times

Lashing back at foreign criticism of the poll last week, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told reporters: "It is not being held for the international community."

From Barron's

The initial, partial release of the Epstein files was met with widespread criticism by lawmakers.

From Salon

The British network said Kimmel will "reflect on the past few months in a deeply personal and characteristically jovial address", following his "return to air and his much-publicised criticism of the US administration".

From BBC