value judgement

Meaning

1. 1nouncountableformal

   An opinion about whether something is good, bad, right, or wrong, based on personal, cultural, or moral standards rather than provable facts.

   Grammar: Countable: make a value judgement, not value judgement a fact. Often followed by “about/on.”

   Patterns

   • make a value judgement
   • a value judgement about something
   • avoid value judgements

   Calling the novel immoral is a value judgement, not a literary measurement.

   The report tried to avoid value judgements about family life.

   Each society makes different value judgements about wealth and duty.

Word forms

Common combinations

make a value judgement

It is hard to discuss punishment without making a value judgement.

personal value judgement

Calling her lazy was a personal value judgement.

moral value judgement

The court separated legal facts from moral value judgement.

avoid value judgements

The researcher tried to avoid value judgements in the interview.

Synonyms and how they differ

value judgment

The same meaning with American spelling; use this form in US publications.

moral judgement

Narrower because it concerns right and wrong conduct, not all standards of quality or taste.

opinion

Broader and less technical; any belief can be an opinion, while a value judgement rests on values.

Opposites

Word family

judge verb

To form an opinion or decide after considering evidence.

judgement noun

An opinion or decision; in American English usually spelled judgment.

value noun

A principle or standard considered important by a person or group.

Commonly confused: value judgement or value judgement vs judgement?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “value judgement”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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