Meaning of criticism in English

criticism

noun [ C or U ]

/ˈkrɪt̬.ɪ.sɪ.zəm/ uk

/ˈkrɪt.ɪ.sɪ.zəm/

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B2 [ C or U ]

the act of saying that something or someone is bad or a comment that says what is bad about it:

criticism of There has been a lot of criticism of the decision.

criticism about He resigned amid criticism about his handling of the affair.

I thought the speech was generally good, but I have one criticism: it was too long.

widespread criticism The designs for the new mosque have attracted widespread criticism.

She doesn't react very well to criticism.

See also

constructive criticism

Related words

criticize

critic

[ U ]

writing or speech that expresses opinions or judgments about the good or bad qualities of something or someone, especially books, movies, etc.:

She began writing film criticism for the New York Times.

To improve my writing, I read fiction rather than reading criticism.

He has been recognized for his restaurant criticism by the Association of Food Journalists.

See also

cultural criticism

literary criticism

Related word

critic

More examplesFewer examples

Her lack of interest in the project has provoked sharp criticism from colleagues.
You must learn not to overreact to criticism.
The government is currently facing severe criticism.
I think he felt discouraged because of all the criticism he'd received.
His report contained serious criticisms of the finance director and of the entire board of management.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Disapproving & criticizing

See more results »

(Definition of criticism from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

criticism | Intermediate English

criticism

noun [ C/U ]

/ˈkrɪt·əˌsɪz·əm/

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an opinion given about something or someone, esp. a negative opinion, or the activity of making such judgments:

[ C ] It was meant as a suggestion, not a criticism.

[ U ] He was singled out for strong criticism.

Criticism is also a careful discussion of something in order to judge its quality or explain its meaning:

[ U ] art criticism

(Definition of criticism from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of criticism

criticism

But you wouldn't know it from some of the criticisms directed at it.

From USA TODAY

The deal received widespread criticism by human rights groups who question the morality and legality of such a plan.

From Los Angeles Times

And we will stand against attempts to single it out for criticism in international forums.

From NPR

Criticism from the right has unsurprisingly had a different flavor.

From ThinkProgress

In recent months, criticism of the jail has picked up pace.

From NOLA.com

Whether it's family, friends, or your high school history teacher, you might have to quell some criticisms of your pursuit.

From Huffington Post

The stunts gain traction in part because it can be hard for non-experts to determine what is and what isn't legitimate criticism.

From Huffington Post

It is a model that has come under some criticism.

From NJ.com

Rather, they deserve criticism for deploying a strategy that reduced their chances of winning.

From Slate Magazine

In the movie, these criticisms emerge at a town hall meeting.

From NPR

At the end of the day, that's more a quibble than a criticism.

From Slate Magazine

It was embraced by parents, teachers and children of all colors -- and eventually the criticism subsided.

From NPR

We have always been open to criticism and self-evaluation.

From NPR

How did you react to that kind of criticism?

From Los Angeles Times

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with criticism

criticism

These are words often used in combination with criticism.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

above criticism

In fairness, the above criticism applies only to a small part of a very brief introduction.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

a lot of criticism

Their argument has received a lot of criticism.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

architectural criticism

The architectural criticism in the second half of the book is more meticulous and based more on observation than in the first.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all collocations with criticism

What is the pronunciation of criticism?

Translations of criticism

in Chinese (Traditional)

批評，批判, 指責，反對, （尤指對書、電影等的）評論，評價…

in Chinese (Simplified)

批评，批判, 指责，反对, （尤指对书、电影等的）评论，评价…

in Spanish

crítica, crítica [feminine]…

in Portuguese

crítica, críticas, crítica [feminine]…

in more languages

in Marathi

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in French

in Catalan

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in Italian

टीका, आक्षेप, समीक्षा…

批判, 非難（ひなん）, 批評（ひひょう）…

muhalefet, eleştiri, (oyun…

critique [feminine], critique…

crítica…

kritiek…

ஏதோ அல்லது யாரோ மோசமானவர்கள் என்று சொல்லும் செயல், ஏதாவது அல்லது ஒருவரின் நல்ல அல்லது கெட்ட குணங்கள், குறிப்பாக புத்தகங்கள்…

आलोचना, (किताबों, फिल्मों आदि के विषय में) राय…

ટીકા, (પુસ્તકો, મૂવીઝ વગેરે વિશે) સમીક્ષા…

kritik…

kritik…

kritikan…

die Kritik…

kritikk [masculine], (tekst)kritikk, klaging…

تنقید, اعتراض کرنے کا عمل, تبصرہ (کتابوں، فلموں اور دوسری فنی تخلیقات کے حوالے سے)…

критика, критичний розгляд…

критика…

ఒక మనిషి లేక ఒక విషయం/వస్తువు చెడ్డదని చెప్పే క్రియ, ఒకదాని లేదా ఒకరి గురించి పప్రత్యేకంగా పుస్తకాలు, సినిమాలు మొదలైన వాటి యొక్క మంచి లేదా చెడు లక్షణాల గురించి మీ అభిప్రాయం లేదా తీర్పును ఇవ్వడం…

انْتِقاد…

কিছু বা কাউকে খারাপ বলার কাজ, কিছু বা কারুর ভালো বা খারাপ গুণাবলী বিশেষ করে বই, চলচ্চিত্র ইত্যাদি সম্পর্কে আপনার মতামত বা রায় দেওয়ার কাজ…

kritika, posudek…

kritik…

การวิจารณ์…

sự phê bình…