criticize */*/

criticize */*/
UK [ˈkrɪtɪsaɪz] / US [ˈkrɪtɪˌsaɪz] verb
Word forms "criticize":
present tense I/you/we/they criticize he/she/it criticizes present participle criticizing past tense criticized past participle criticized
Metaphor:
Criticizing someone or speaking in an angry and unpleasant way to them is like hitting or injuring them. She hit out angrily at the judge's decision. ♦ He lashed out at me, accusing me of not caring. ♦ They tore me to pieces/shreds. ♦ They rapped me over the knuckles about it. ♦ They were gunning for me. ♦ Don't beat yourself up over this. ♦ Don't knock what you don't understand. ♦ There's no need to jump down my throat. ➡ angry, argument, feeling
Ways of expressing criticism:
I'm bound to say/I have to say → used when you are going to say something that may annoy or upset someone, especially because it expresses criticism With respect/With all due respect → used when you are going to disagree with someone or criticize someone, in order to sound more polite To say the least/To put it mildly → used for suggesting that something is worse or more extreme than you are saying Shall we say? → used in the middle of a sentence for making a statement or criticism seem less severe or offensive Don't get me wrong → used when you want to make sure that someone understands your comments correctly, especially when you are criticizing them How shall I put it?/Let me put it this way → used when you are going to say something that is honest but may sound rude or unkind Without wishing to do something → used when you are going to say something that someone may not like To be fair/In all fairness/To give someone their due → used for making your criticism of someone or something seem less strong by mentioning something good about them
Examples:
I'm bound to say/I have to say, I found his performance pretty disappointing. With all due respect, Mr Davies, I do think you're being a little unreasonable. I think his behaviour in the meeting was immature, to put it mildly. The training programme seems, shall we say, a little dull. Don't get me wrong, I do like Christine, I just don't think she's right for you. Her boyfriend is a bit, how shall I put it, difficult to get along with. ♦ Let me put it this way, I wouldn't miss her if she left. Without wishing to hurt your feelings, I think you need to lose a little weight. Vicki's schoolwork has been poor this term, though, to be fair, her maths has improved. ♦ She never calls me, though to give her her due, she always remembers my birthday.
1) [intransitive/transitive] to say what you think is wrong or bad about something

Ministers were told not to criticize the policy publicly.

It was difficult to be honest without seeming to criticize.

criticize someone/something for (doing) something:

The new proposals have been criticized for not going far enough to change the system.

be strongly/severely/widely/sharply/heavily criticized:

Social services were widely criticized for not taking more action to protect children at risk.

2) [transitive] to consider something carefully and judge what the good and bad aspects of it are

English dictionary. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • criticize — criticize, reprehend, blame, censure, reprobate, condemn, denounce are comparable when they mean to find fault with someone or something openly, often publicly, and with varying degrees of severity. Criticize in its basic sense does not carry… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • criticize — v. t. same as {criticise}; as, The paper criticized the new movie. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • criticize — [v1] disapprove, judge as bad animadvert on, bash, blame, blast, blister, carp, castigate, censure, chastise, chide, clobber, come down on, condemn, cut down*, cut to bits*, cut up*, denounce, denunciate, disparage, do a number on*, dress down*,… …   New thesaurus

  • criticize — [krit′ə sīz΄] vi., vt. criticized, criticizing 1. to analyze and judge as a critic 2. to judge disapprovingly; find fault (with); censure criticizable adj. criticizer n. SYN. CRITICIZE, in this comparison, is the general term for finding fault… …   English World dictionary

  • criticize — I (evaluate) verb adjudge, appraise, assess, consider, examine, gauge, iudicare, judge, measure, rank, rate, reckon, review, scrutinize, sum up, take stock of, value, weigh II (find fault with) verb animadvert, berate, blame, castigate, censure,… …   Law dictionary

  • criticize — 1640s, to pass judgment on something (usually unfavorable), from CRITIC (Cf. critic) + IZE (Cf. ize). Meaning to discuss critically is from 1660s; that of to censure is from 1704. Related: Criticized; criticizing …   Etymology dictionary

  • criticize — (also criticise) ► VERB 1) indicate the faults of in a disapproving way. 2) form and express a critical assessment of (a literary or artistic work) …   English terms dictionary

  • criticize — crit|i|cize W3S3 also criticise BrE [ˈkrıtısaız] v 1.) [I and T] to express your disapproval of someone or something, or to talk about their faults ≠ ↑praise ▪ Ron does nothing but criticize and complain all the time. be strongly/sharply/heavily… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • criticize — v. 1) to criticize fairly; harshly, severely, sharply 2) (D; tr.) to criticize for (to criticize smb. for sloppy work) * * * [ krɪtɪsaɪz] harshly severely sharply to criticize fairly (D; tr.) to criticize for (to criticize smb. for sloppy work) …   Combinatory dictionary

  • criticize — crit|i|cize [ krıtı,saız ] verb ** 1. ) intransitive or transitive to say what you think is wrong or bad about something: Cabinet members were told not to criticize the policy publicly. It was difficult to be honest without seeming to criticize.… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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