criticism.

1. An unfavorable judgment that identifies weaknesses or problems.

2. The analysis and evaluation of literary, artistic, or intellectual work.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• constructive criticism
• sharp criticism

On the page

The response addresses the strongest criticism of the policy.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Countable or uncountable by context; countable singular criticism; plural criticisms. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common.