ENGLISH
REFERENCE

criticize

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford US //ˈkɹɪtɪˌsaɪz// crit·i·cize Dialect General-service

v. to say what you think is wrong or bad about something or someone. You use this when you want to point out mistakes or give a negative opinion.

v. to express disapproval of someone or something based on perceived faults or mistakes. Transitive — requires a direct object or a prepositional phrase to indicate the target of the judgment.


SIMPLE

The teacher did not criticize my work today.

CONTEXTUAL

The film director was upset when the local newspapers began to criticize his latest movie for being too long.

COMPLEX

While it is easy to criticize the government's response to the crisis, providing a viable alternative strategy requires a much deeper understanding of the available resources.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

From critic + -ize; first element from Ancient Greek κριτικός (kritikós, “of or for judging, able to discern”), from κρίσις (krísis, “decision, judgement”).

Usage

The verb is transitive and takes a direct object. When specifying the reason for the disapproval, it takes the preposition 'for'.

Pitfall

They criticized about his decisionThey criticized his decisionCriticize is a transitive verb; it acts directly on the object and does not take the preposition 'about'.

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