Meaning & use
criticize
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To say what you think is wrong or bad about someone or something.
Grammar: Takes an object, often followed by for: criticize him for being late.
Patterns
- criticize someone for something
- criticize something as something
The coach criticized the team for giving up easily.
Residents criticized the plan as too expensive.
Don't criticize her cooking unless you can do better.
verbtransitive or intransitiveformal
To examine and judge the strengths and weaknesses of a work of art, idea or performance.
Grammar: Used in formal evaluation: criticize a novel; critics criticize.
Patterns
- criticize a work
- criticize constructively
The students were taught to criticize poetry carefully.
A good reviewer criticizes fairly.
Scholars criticized the theory in a series of articles.
Word forms
| third person singular | criticizes |
|---|---|
| past tense | criticized |
| past participle | criticized |
| -ing form | criticizing |
Common combinations
- harshly criticize
- The press harshly criticized the decision.
- criticize someone for
- She criticized him for ignoring her advice.
- publicly criticize
- The mayor publicly criticized the proposal.
- openly criticize
- Few employees openly criticize management.
- unfairly criticized
- The referee was unfairly criticized after the match.
Synonyms and how they differ
- condemn
- Condemn is stronger and means to declare something wrong, while criticize can be mild.
- fault
- Fault focuses on finding a specific flaw and often appears in the phrase fault someone for something.
- slam
- Slam is informal and means to criticize very harshly.
- critique
- Critique means a careful, structured evaluation, not merely disapproval.
Opposites
Word family
- criticism noun
- the act of expressing disapproval
- critic noun
- a person who judges art, books or ideas
- critical adjective
- expressing disapproval, or very important
- critically adverb
- in a critical way
Commonly confused: criticize or critique?
criticize vs critique
A critique is a detailed analysis, which can be positive or negative, while criticize emphasizes finding fault.
Practice
The reviewers ______ the film for its slow plot.
Choose one answer.
Criticized for X means finding fault. The other verbs would normally be followed by a positive reason.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “criticize”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.