crit ‧ i ‧ cize W3 BrE AmE ( also criticise British English ) /ˈkrɪtəsaɪz, ˈkrɪtɪsaɪz/ verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ critic , ↑ criticism ; verb : ↑ criticize ; adverb : ↑ critically ≠ ↑ uncritically ; adjective : ↑ critical ≠ ↑ uncritical ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to express your disapproval of someone or something, or to talk about their faults OPP praise :
Ron does nothing but criticize and complain all the time.
be strongly/sharply/heavily criticized
The decision has been strongly criticized by teachers.
The new law has been widely criticized.
criticize somebody/something for (doing) something
He has been criticized for incompetence.
Doctors have criticized the government for failing to invest enough in the health service.
criticize somebody/something as something
The report has been criticized as inaccurate and incomplete.
2 . [transitive] formal to express judgments about the good and bad qualities of something:
We look at each other’s work and criticize it.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adverbs
▪ strongly/severely/heavily criticize somebody/something
Public transport has been severely criticized in the report.
▪ sharply/harshly/fiercely criticize somebody/something (=in an angry way)
His attorney sharply criticized the police yesterday.
▪ be widely criticized
The proposal was widely criticized.
▪ publicly criticize somebody/something
The head coach publicly criticized the referee’s decision.
▪ roundly criticize somebody/something (=strongly and severely)
Their research has been roundly criticized.
▪ openly criticize somebody/something (=in a public and direct way)
They openly criticized the government’s handling of the crisis.
▪ repeatedly/frequently/constantly criticize
The fashion industry is frequently criticized for presenting extremely thin models as beautiful.
■ phrases
▪ be quick to criticize somebody/something
Some groups were quick to criticize the President.
▪ criticize somebody/something on the grounds that (=for the reason that)
The survey was criticized on the grounds that the sample was too small.
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THESAURUS
▪ criticize to say what you think is bad about someone or something:
He was criticized for not being tough enough with the terrorists.
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Stop criticizing my friends!
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It’s easy to criticize, but not so easy to offer helpful solutions.
▪ be critical of somebody/something to criticize someone or something, especially by giving detailed reasons for this:
The report was highly critical of the police investigation.
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The press have been critical of his leadership style.
▪ attack to criticize someone or something very strongly, especially publicly in the newspapers, on TV etc:
They attacked the government’s decision to undertake nuclear weapons tests.
▪ lay into somebody/tear into somebody to criticize someone very strongly for something they have done, especially by shouting at them:
He started laying into one of his staff for being late.
▪ tear somebody/something to shreds to find a lot of things wrong with someone’s arguments or ideas and make them seem very weak:
The prosecution will tear him to shreds.
▪ pan to strongly criticize a film, play etc in the newspapers, on TV etc:
Her first movie was panned by the critics.
▪ be pilloried especially written to be strongly criticized by a lot of people in the newspapers, on TV etc:
He was pilloried in the right-wing press.
▪ condemn to say very strongly in public that you do not approve of something or someone, especially because you think they are morally wrong:
Politicians were quick to condemn the bombing.
■ to criticize unfairly
▪ find fault with somebody/something to criticize things that you think are wrong with something, especially small and unimportant things:
He’s quick to find fault with other people’s work.
▪ pick holes in something informal to criticize something by finding many small faults in it, in a way that seems unreasonable and unfair:
Why are you always picking holes in my work?
▪ knock to criticize someone or something, in an unfair and unreasonable way:
I know it’s fashionable to knock Tony Blair, but I think he did a good job.
▪ slag off British English informal to criticize someone in an unfair and unpleasant way:
He’s always slagging you off behind your back.