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

However, it has led to criticism from some Conservatives that the leadership has been too slow at announcing policies and has created a vacuum which has been filled by Reform UK.

From BBC

Justice Gavai later took note of the criticism, saying he respects "all religions", the Press Trust of India reported.

From BBC

The decision drew criticism from Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, who called it “a state court judge’s hasty nullification.”

From Salon

Ms Weiss, who started her career working at Jewish news outlets, is known for her support of Israel and her criticism of "cancel culture".

From BBC

Charges against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry - who both deny the allegations - were dropped by prosecutors in September, prompting criticism from ministers and MPs.

From BBC

Related Words

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