criticism

[ krit-uh-siz-uhm ]
/ ˈkrɪt əˌsɪz əm /
SEE 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.

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?
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decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
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Origin of criticism

First recorded in 1600–10; critic + -ism

OTHER WORDS FROM criticism

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH criticism

critic criticism critique

Words nearby criticism

critical thinking, critical value, critical volume, criticality, criticaster, criticism, criticize, critique, critique of pure reason, crittenden compromise, critter
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to criticism

comment, assessment, review, critique, opinion, judgment, objection, denunciation, essay, notice, elucidation, observation, examination, appraisal, study, appreciation, exposition, rave, commentary, estimate

Example sentences from the Web for criticism

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