criticize

criticize — verb

1. to point out what you believe are the faults or mistakes of a person, an idea, o

1.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to point out what you believe are the faults or mistakes of a person, an idea, or an action

Example

Anjali criticized the design of the new city library for having too few windows.

criticize + someone/something + for + noun phrase (reason)

Fans criticized the referee for not awarding a penalty kick during the match.

Common collocations
  • criticize harshly
  • criticize severely
  • criticize publicly
  • criticize the government
  • criticize a decision
  • criticize behavior
  • widely criticized
  • heavily criticized
Synonyms
  • blame

    Stronger; assigns responsibility for something perceived as wrong, not just an opinion.

  • condemn

    Much stronger and more formal; expresses total disapproval, often on moral grounds.

  • find fault with

    More informal; emphasizes looking for minor things that are wrong.

Antonyms
  • praise

    To express warm approval or admiration.

  • compliment

    To express admiration or praise in a polite, personal way.

Grammar Patterns

criticize + someone/something

criticize + someone + for + doing something

Usage Note

Frequently followed by for + noun or gerund to state the reason for the criticism. The passive form is also common: 'The government was severely criticized for the policy.'

Common Mistakes

He criticized to her about the mess.
He criticized her for the mess.
criticize takes a direct object, not a prepositional phrase like 'to someone about something.'
She criticized on the movie.
She criticized the movie.
Do not add a preposition such as on or about directly after criticize.

2. to examine a book, film, play, or similar creative work and discuss both what wo

2.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to examine a book, film, play, or similar creative work and discuss both what works well and what does not

Example

A well-known poet was asked to criticize the new novel for a literary magazine.

criticize + creative work + for [publication] (formal register)

Christopher criticized the film for the student paper, praising the acting despite the weak script.

Common collocations
  • criticize a book
  • criticize a film
  • criticize a play
  • criticize for a magazine
  • criticize for a newspaper
  • professionally criticized
Synonyms
  • review

    Standard neutral term for writing or speaking about a creative work.

  • evaluate

    Broader and more formal; applies to any systematic assessment.

  • appraise

    Professional term for judging quality against standards.

Grammar Patterns

criticize + a creative work (book/film/play/poem)

Usage Note

Unlike sense 1 (FIND FAULT), this sense carries a neutral-to-positive tone — the goal is balanced evaluation, not disapproval. The object is always a creative or intellectual work (book, film, play, poem, exhibition), never a person.

Common Mistakes

The critic criticized the actor for being tall.' (sense 2 about work, not person).
The critic criticized the film for its weak second act.
Use sense 1 for personal disapproval; use sense 2 only for works.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four express negative judgment, but they differ in intensity and focus. Criticize is the broadest and most neutral — you can criticize a policy, a person, or a piece of work without implying moral failure. Blame is narrower: it assigns responsibility for something that went wrong ('The driver was blamed for the accident'). Condemn is much stronger and more formal, carrying moral outrage ('The court condemned the violence'). Find fault with is more informal and suggests looking for small imperfections rather than making a serious judgment. Use criticize for everyday opinion; use condemn only for things you find genuinely shocking or wrong.

criticize ↗blame ↗condemn ↗find fault with

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • be criticized for
  • come under criticism
  • face criticism from

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

Criticize comes from the Greek word kritikos, meaning 'able to judge or discern,' which itself comes from krinein ('to separate, decide, judge'). The word passed into Latin as criticus, then into French as critiquer, and finally into English in the 1600s. Originally it meant 'to act as a judge' — the negative meaning ('find fault') developed later, and today both meanings exist side by side.