criticismnoun
American /ˈkrɪt.ə.sɪ.zəm/ British /ˈkrɪt.ɪ.sɪ.zəm/ The stress is on the first part: KRIT-uh-siz-uhm. The second c sounds like s.
plural criticisms
saying what is badwords that say what someone thinks is wrong or bad about someone or something
countable or uncountable [C/U]
- The plan has faced strong criticism from parents.
- She doesn't take criticism very well.
- My main criticism of the book is that it is too long.
- He listened to their criticisms without saying a word.
Collocations
adjective + noun strong criticism, harsh criticism, fair criticism, constructive criticismAntonyms praise
of books and artthe work of judging and discussing books, movies, plays, and other kinds of art
- She teaches literary criticism at the university.
- He wrote film criticism for a newspaper for many years.
Collocations
adjective + noun literary criticismnoun + noun film criticism, art criticism
Word family
- critic
- critical
- criticize
Usage
In everyday use, criticism is almost always negative. Constructive criticism is criticism that is meant to help someone improve. Only sense 2, the study of books and art, is neutral.