criticism
noun
crit·i·cism
ˈkri-tə-ˌsi-zəm 
1
a
: the act of criticizing usually unfavorably
seeking encouragement rather than criticism
b
: a critical observation or remark
an unfair criticism
had a minor criticism of the design
c
: critique
2
: the art of evaluating or analyzing works of art or literature
also
: writings expressing such evaluation or analysis
an anthology of literary criticism
3
: the scientific investigation of literary documents (such as the Bible) in regard to such matters as origin, text, composition, or history
Examples of criticism in a Sentence
There was much public criticism directed at the senator.
In this job you need to be able to take criticism.
I asked my sister for some constructive criticism of my essay before I tried to revise it.
I had one minor criticism about her design.
Recent Examples on the Web
The news comes in the wake of unusually intense criticism of the Super Bowl halftime show, which will be headlined by Bad Bunny.
—
Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025
Such legendary figures, all fictional characters, link the messy uncertainties of nation building to a transcendent region of certainty and truth that defies criticism and doubt.
—Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
Sanger has argued that entries related to issues like crime and climate change on Wikipedia are not politically neutral and called for specific reforms to the site, fuelling criticisms from the right that the site is biased towards the left.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 28 Oct. 2025
In a move that met with widespread criticism, last year Spotify reduced its royalty payments to musicians and songwriters by hundreds of millions of dollars per year by automatically imposing a bundling plan with its audiobooks division that few music fans would seem likely to want.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for criticism
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Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025
Such legendary figures, all fictional characters, link the messy uncertainties of nation building to a transcendent region of certainty and truth that defies criticism and doubt.
—Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
Sanger has argued that entries related to issues like crime and climate change on Wikipedia are not politically neutral and called for specific reforms to the site, fuelling criticisms from the right that the site is biased towards the left.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 28 Oct. 2025
In a move that met with widespread criticism, last year Spotify reduced its royalty payments to musicians and songwriters by hundreds of millions of dollars per year by automatically imposing a bundling plan with its audiobooks division that few music fans would seem likely to want.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for criticism
Cite this Entry
“Criticism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/criticism. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
criticism
noun
crit·i·cism
ˈkrit-ə-ˌsiz-əm
1
: the act of criticizing and especially of finding fault
2
: a critical remark or comment
3
: a careful judgment or review especially by a critic
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