criticism

noun

crit·i·cism | \ ˈkri-tə-ˌsi-zəm

Definition of criticism

1a : 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

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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 app's hivemind approach has received criticism before. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "NYPD Wants Waze to Stop Warning People About DWI Traps," 7 Feb. 2019 Harris received criticism for not including this in her relief act. — Diana Budds, Curbed, "Two senators are proposing national rent relief bills. Here’s why it matters," 10 Aug. 2018 Journalists have often described Justin as difficult to talk to, a criticism that seems unfair. — Rob Haskell, Vogue, "Justin and Hailey Bieber Open Up About Their Passionate, Not-Always-Easy but Absolutely All-In Romance," 7 Feb. 2019 Judges chose an eclectic range of 31 books in six competitive categories, from fiction to criticism to autobiography, for which six finalists were picked. — Hillel Italie, The Seattle Times, "Rachel Kushner among finalists for book critics prizes," 22 Jan. 2019 In a week where the Duchess of Sussex faced more criticism from the British tabloids—this time for simply having friends who defended her against a never-ending onslaught of untrue and negative reports—his words could not have been more apt. — Omid Scobie, Harper's BAZAAR, "Prince Harry & Duchess Meghan Share Baby Joy at Event Close to Harry's Heart," 8 Feb. 2019 Communicate that suicide is not a taboo subject for you, and give your friend permission to express their feelings without fear of criticism, Wolfelt says. — Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, "7 Things to Say When a Friend’s Loved One Dies by Suicide (and 3 to Avoid)," 5 Feb. 2019 But there are other criticisms nearly every time a new By the Book column publishes. — Constance Grady, Vox, "The Alice Walker anti-Semitism controversy, explained," 20 Dec. 2018 Violence, however, wasn't the only criticism surrounding the series. — Dan Barna, Teen Vogue, "The "Heathers" Reboot Has Been Re-Edited and Will Air on the Paramount Network," 4 Oct. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'criticism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.