criticism

noun — 2 senses

criticism

noun

/ˈkɹɪtɪsɪzm̩/

Etymology From critic + -ism.

1

The act of criticising; a critical judgment passed or expressed.

  • The politician received a lot of public criticism for his controversial stance on the issue.
  • Criticism has been leveled at a number of prominent figures.
1 more example
  • Bret Stephens believed that, by virtue of his comfortable position at the New York Times, he ought to be immune from insult or criticism.2019 September 3, David Karpf, “Bret Stephens Compared Me to a Nazi Propagandist in the New York Times. It Proved My Point.”, in Esquire:
2

A critical observation or detailed examination and review.

  • The politician received several detailed criticisms of his stance on the issue.
  • I was stung by her harsh criticisms.
2 more examples
  • Her attitude was that of a person who listens, either to the external world of sound, or to the discourse of thought. A close criticism might have detected signs proving that she was intent on the latter alternative.1874, Thomas Hardy, Far From the Madding Crowd, Barnes & Noble Classics (2005 publication of 1912 Wessex edition), page 276:
  • Buried in the article – meant to demonstrate the urgent need of adopting KOSA by linking minors’ online presence with anything from anxiety and depression to cognitive decline, sex trafficking, and death by overdose – is the mention of one of the key criticisms of the bill, namely, that it will bring in even more censorship.2024 December 17, Didi Rankovic, “Senators Rush to Pass Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), Face Criticism Over Censorship and Age Verification Issues”, in Reclaim the Net:
Synonyms
admonishment, blame, brickbatting, castigation, censure, onus, chastisement, criticism, critique, dispraise, discommendation, panning, reprehension, vituperation
Antonyms
advice, praise
Derived terms
27 termsanticriticism, autocriticism, biocriticism, constructive criticism, contextual criticism, countercriticism, cybercriticism, destructive criticism, ecocriticism, form criticism, geocriticism, gynocriticism, higher criticism, historical criticism, historic criticism, hypercriticism, literary criticism, lower criticism, metacriticism, neocriticism, New Criticism, oneirocriticism, overcriticism, self-criticism, source criticism, technocriticism, textual criticism
Related terms
armchair criticism, critic, critical, criticise, criticize
Hypernyms
action, expression
Hyponyms
bad press, criticasterism, criticastry, firehosing, hypercriticisms
Coordinate terms
condemnation
Meronyms
scolding

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.