Criticism

How to spell criticism

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce criticism

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does criticism mean?

1. nounThe expression of disapproval or the pointing out of faults, or the careful analysis and judgement of something.

Criticism in a sentence

• The manager welcomed honest criticism of the new proposal.

• Her review offered thoughtful criticism of the novel's structure.

Where does criticism come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek kritikos, an adjective meaning 'able to judge or discern', which itself grew from krites 'a judge' and the verb krinein 'to separate, decide, or judge'. The same krinein root quietly feeds a whole family of English words, including 'critic', 'criterion', and even 'crisis', a moment that demands a decision. Latin borrowed the term as criticus, and by the early 1600s English writers had formed 'critic' for a person who evaluates, then attached the productive suffix -ism to coin 'criticism' for the act or practice of judging. At first it leaned toward the scholarly business of analysing texts and art, but it soon broadened to mean the pointing out of faults more generally. The spelling trap sits in that middle, unstressed 'i' (crit-i-cism), an easy schwa to drop, and in the c that softens to an s sound before the i.

How the word is built

• critic (from Greek kritikos: able to judge)
• -ism (noun suffix forming a practice or quality)