criticism

noun

crit·​i·​cism ˈkri-tə-ˌsi-zəm 

1

a

: the act of criticizing usually unfavorably

seeking encouragement rather than criticism

b

: a critical observation or remark

an unfair criticism

had a minor criticism of the design

c

: critique

2

: the art of evaluating or analyzing works of art or literature

also : writings expressing such evaluation or analysis

an anthology of literary criticism

3

: the scientific investigation of literary documents (such as the Bible) in regard to such matters as origin, text, composition, or history

Synonyms

• critique
• review

Examples of criticism in a Sentence

There was much public criticism directed at the senator.

In this job you need to be able to take criticism.

I asked my sister for some constructive criticism of my essay before I tried to revise it.

I had one minor criticism about her design.

Recent Examples on the Web

The spending watchdog agency echoed its 2019 criticism of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for a lack of oversight of administrative costs associated with state initiatives approved in the name of Medicaid reform. —Margaret Coker, ProPublica, 24 Sep. 2025

Umpires take a lot of unwarranted criticism across Major League Baseball, but this is one instance where Scott Barry deserves to take some heat for this decision. —Drew Vonscio, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025

But the rapid expansion and use of other facilities has drawn criticism from immigration advocates and Democrats. —Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 23 Sep. 2025

The vote drew criticism from park advocates. —Verónica Egui Brito, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

critic entry 1 + -ism

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing criticism

• counter-criticism
• form criticism
• higher criticism
• lower criticism
• self-criticism
• textual criticism

Rhymes for criticism

• autism
• fascism
• racism
• sikhism
• statism
• sufism
• thomism
• tourism
• tropism
• abolitionism
• aldosteronism
• americanism

Kids Definition

criticism

noun

crit·​i·​cism ˈkrit-ə-ˌsiz-əm 

1

: the act of criticizing and especially of finding fault

2

: a critical remark or comment

3

: a careful judgment or review especially by a critic