criticism

[ krit-uh-siz-uhm ]

/ ˈkrɪt əˌsɪz əm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR criticism ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

the act of passing severe judgment; censure; faultfinding.

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.

a critical comment, article, or essay; critique.

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.

investigation of the text, origin, etc., of literary documents, especially Biblical ones: textual criticism.

Nearby words

critical thinking, critical value, critical volume, criticality, criticaster, criticism, criticize, critique, critique of pure reason, crittenden compromise, critter

Origin of criticism

First recorded in 1600–10; critic + -ism

SYNONYMS FOR criticism

2 stricture, animadversion.

4 See review.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR criticism ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

coun·ter·crit·i·cism, nouno·ver·crit·i·cism, nounpre·crit·i·cism, noun

Can be confused

critic criticism critique

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for criticism

But this was the year when criticism of said women finally got the harsh words it deserved.
Renée Zellweger Got a New Face—and Everyone Had An Opinion About It|Kevin O’Keeffe|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
However, the Republican base will be far less forgiving of Paul for his criticism of police policy and his courtship of Sharpton.
GOP Won’t Forgive Rand for Cop Critique|Lloyd Green|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Roth responded to the criticism by saying that “Americans do not even know that this country exists.”
When Countries Lose Their Shit Over American Movies|Asawin Suebsaeng|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The clip received heaps of Internet criticism after it went viral, and has since been pulled down from state channels.
Hitler is Huge in Thailand: Chicken Joints, T-Shirts, and A Govt.-Issued Propaganda Video|Marlow Stern|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

American criticism, meanwhile, is blunted by the U.S. need to maintain its major military base in Qatar.
U.S. Ally Qatar Shelters Jihadi Moneymen|Jamie Dettmer|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But Chesterton's taste for bigness has come to his service in criticism.
G. K. Chesterton, A Critical Study|Julius West
I have a sincere respect for his criticism, as I respect also the one he made on the monument to Cavour.
Thoughts on Art and Autobiographical Memoirs of Giovanni Dupr|Giovanni Dupr
He then acknowledged that the notion of "a methodical regularity" in the Essay on Criticism was a "groundless opinion."
The Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 2 (of 10)|Alexander Pope
Contemporary critics have also betrayed a certain concern for some aspects of Lowell's criticism.
Modern American Prose Selections|Various
They leave no loophole for criticism, for their accomplishment is always at least as high as their ambition.
Books and Persons|Arnold Bennett

British Dictionary definitions for criticism

criticism

/ (ˈkrɪtɪˌsɪzəm) /

noun

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

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

the occupation of a critic

a work that sets out to evaluate or analyse

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