criticism
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the act of saying that something or someone is bad or has faults.
the expression of disapproval of someone or something based on perceived faults or mistakes.
Simple“The manager's constant criticism made it very difficult for the team to stay motivated.”
In context“The government faced sharp criticism from the international community regarding its recent changes to environmental policy.”
UsageOften used with the preposition 'of' to indicate the target.
PitfallHe gave me a criticism about my work. He offered some criticism of my work.In the sense of general disapproval, 'criticism' is often uncountable. Use 'some criticism' or 'a piece of criticism' rather than 'a criticism'.
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
a careful and professional judgment of a book, film, or piece of art.
the formal analysis and evaluation of a literary or artistic work.
Simple“She decided to study literary criticism to better understand how famous novels are structured.”
In context“The professor's lecture focused on feminist criticism of nineteenth-century poetry, highlighting themes that previous scholars had overlooked.”
UsageIn this academic sense, the word is often uncountable.
Synonyms
From critic + -ism.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.