criticize
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
to say that something or someone is bad or wrong.
to express disapproval of someone or something based on perceived faults or mistakes.
Simple“The manager criticized the team for arriving late to the meeting.”
In context“The opposition party criticized the government's new economic policy, arguing that it would disproportionately affect low-income families.”
UsageOften used with the preposition 'for' to indicate the reason for the disapproval.
PitfallHe criticized about my new haircut. He criticized my new haircut.The verb 'criticize' is transitive and takes a direct object; do not use the preposition 'about'.
- 02 C1 Advanced
to look at a book, movie, or piece of art and judge its good and bad points.
to examine and judge a literary or artistic work in a detailed and analytical way.
Simple“In our English class, we had to criticize a famous poem.”
In context“The students were asked to criticize the methodology used in the study, identifying both its strengths and its logical inconsistencies.”
Teacher's tipIn modern English, 'criticize' usually sounds negative. For a neutral academic evaluation, 'critique' is often preferred.
“Shabjdeed, a rapper in the West Bank, criticized a fellow Palestinian musician in a song, saying his Western lifestyle and lyrics were far removed from life back home.”
“In March he criticised the club after a heavy defeat by Paris St-Germain in the Champions League - and then said his dream was to move to Madrid.”
From critic + -ize; first element from Ancient Greek κριτικός (kritikós, “of or for judging, able to discern”), from κρίσις (krísis, “decision, judgement”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.