Meaning & use
harsh criticism
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Meanings
noununcountable
Strong, unkind words that judge someone or something severely and often unfairly.
Grammar: Uncountable; use with 'much', 'little', 'some', or 'a lot of', not 'a' or 'many'.
Patterns
- harsh criticism of someone/something
- come in for harsh criticism
- draw harsh criticism
- face harsh criticism
The new policy met with harsh criticism from teachers and parents.
After the match, the coach faced harsh criticism for his strange decisions.
Her first novel received harsh criticism, but she kept writing.
nouncountable
A single severe critical remark or comment.
Grammar: Countable when referring to one specific remark: 'a harsh criticism'.
Patterns
- a harsh criticism of someone/something
- make a harsh criticism
He made a harsh criticism of the way the project was managed.
One harsh criticism from her boss ruined her whole day.
Common combinations
- come in for harsh criticism
- The company came in for harsh criticism after the data leak.
- draw harsh criticism
- The film drew harsh criticism for its violent scenes.
- face harsh criticism
- The mayor faced harsh criticism over the new tax.
- harsh criticism from someone
- She received harsh criticism from her own party.
- a wave of harsh criticism
- A wave of harsh criticism followed the announcement.
Synonyms and how they differ
- condemnation
- Stronger and more formal; often suggests a moral judgment, while 'harsh criticism' can be about anything from a meal to a law.
- scathing criticism
- Very severe and damaging; 'scathing' is even stronger than 'harsh' and often used in written reviews.
- flak
- Informal; means heavy criticism from many people, often in the media, not just one person.
Opposites
Word family
- criticize verb
- To say what is wrong with someone or something.
- critic noun
- A person who judges or reviews something, especially art.
- critical adjective
- Saying that something is bad or wrong; also very important.
- critically adverb
- In a way that shows disapproval, or in a serious way.
Commonly confused: harsh criticism or constructive criticism?
harsh criticism vs constructive criticism
This means helpful criticism meant to improve something, while 'harsh criticism' is unkind and often unfair.
Practice
The government's plan came in for ______ from health experts.
Choose one answer.
'Harsh criticism' is the correct uncountable noun phrase after 'came in for'. 'Harsh critic' is a person, not the criticism itself; 'harshly criticism' is wrong because an adverb cannot modify a noun; 'harsh criticisms' is possible in some contexts but less natural here and would need 'of' to specify the target.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “harsh criticism”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.