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criticism

   Also found in: Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.04 sec.
crit·i·cism  (krt-szm)
n.
1. The act of criticizing, especially adversely.
2. A critical comment or judgment.
3.
a. The practice of analyzing, classifying, interpreting, or evaluating literary or other artistic works.
b. A critical article or essay; a critique.
c. The investigation of the origin and history of literary documents; textual criticism.

criticism
Noun
1. fault-finding or censure
2. an analysis of a work of art or literature
3. the occupation of a critic
4. a work that sets out to analyse

Criticism
a review or critique.
a critical theory, doctrine, or approach based upon the method used by Aristotle in the Poetics, implying a formal, logical approach to literary analysis that is centered on the work itself. Cf. Platonic criticism.
Rare. a critic of Homeric literature who claims the Iliad and the Odyssey had different authors.
a school of literary criticism that focuses on the work as an autonomous entity, whose meaning should be derived solely from an examination of the work itself. Cf. New Criticism. — contextualist, n., adj.
the type of criticism whose aim is the reduction of knowledge to descriptions of pure experience and the elimination of such aspects as metaphysics. — empiriocritical, adj.
a detailed criticism of a book, dissertation, or other writing.
a critical interpretation or explication, especially of biblical and other religious texts. — exegetic, exegetical, adj.
a critical approach, doctrine, or technique that places heavy emphasis on style, form, or technique in art or literature, seeing these as more important than or even determining content.
a critical emphasis upon style, arrangement, and artistic means with limited attention to content, — formalist, n. — formalistic, adj.
the application of the theories of the personality developed by Freud to the development of characters and other aspects of artistic creation. Cf. psychoanalytical criticism. — Freudian, n., adj.
a critical approach, doctrine, or technique that emphasizes, in evaluating a work, the genre or medium in which it can be placed rather than seeing it entirely as an autonomous entity.
the practice of unreasonable or unjustly severe criticism; faultfinding. — hypercritic, n., adj. — hypercritical, adj.
a critical approach, doctrine, or practice that applies the theories of Jungian psychology to works of art and literature, especially with regard to Jungian theories of myth, archetype, and symbol. Cf. mythic criticism.
an imitation, used in literary criticism to designate Aristotle’s theory of imitation. — mimetic, adj.
a critical approach or technique that seeks mythic meaning or imagery in literature, looking beyond the immediate context of the work in time and place. Cf. Jungian criticism.
a critical approach to literature that concentrates upon analysis and explication of individual texts and considers historical and biographical information less important than an awareness of the work’s formal structure. — New Critic, n.
an American antirealist, antinaturalist, and anti-Romantic literary and critical movement of circa 1915-1933, whose principal exponents were Babbitt, More, and Foerster, influenced by Matthew Arnold, and whose aims were to show the importance of reason and will in a context of rectitude and dignity. — new humanist, n., adj.
a critical approach or doctrine based upon and applying the ideas and values of Plato and Platonism, implying a literary analysis which finds the value of a work in its extrinsic qualities and historical context, as well as in its non-artistic usefulness. Cf. Aristotelian criticism.
a practical approach to literary criticism, in which the text is approached in universal terms with little recourse to an elaborate apparatus of reference outside the text. Cf. theoretical criticism.
an approach to criticism or a critical technique that applies the principles, theories and practices of psychoanalysis to literature, both in the analysis of the work and of the author. See also Freudianism.
in criticism, rigid or strict evaluation of a work of art or literature in terms of a code of standards of the critic or of a school of style or criticism related to or distinct from the critic, artist, or writer. See also art; language; literature. — purist, n., adj.
the action of finding one’s own faults and shortcomings. — self-critical, adj.
the close study of a particular literary work in order to establish its original text. — textual critic, n.
a critical approach or doctrine that examines a literary work in the light of certain theories of literature or uses the text as a support for the development of literary theory. Cf. practical criticism.
the practice of making bitter, carping, and belittling critical judgments. — Zoilus, Zoili, n.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.criticismcriticism - disapproval expressed by pointing out faults or shortcomings; "the senator received severe criticism from his opponent"
attack - strong criticism; "he published an unexpected attack on my work"
disapproval - the expression of disapproval
brickbat - blunt criticism
carping, faultfinding - persistent petty and unjustified criticism
flack, flak, attack, blast, fire - intense adverse criticism; "Clinton directed his fire at the Republican Party"; "the government has come under attack"; "don't give me any flak"
thrust - verbal criticism; "he enlivened his editorials with barbed thrusts at politicians"
potshot - criticism aimed at an easy target and made without careful consideration; "reporters took potshots at the mayor"
rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to take the rebuke with a smile on his face"
slating - a severely critical attack; "the reviewers gave his book a sound slating"
static - angry criticism; "they will probably give you a lot of static about your editorial"
stricture - severe criticism
2.criticism - a serious examination and judgment of something; "constructive criticism is always appreciated"
critical analysis, critical appraisal - an appraisal based on careful analytical evaluation
examen - a critical study (as of a writer's work)
knock, roast - negative criticism
self-criticism - criticism of yourself
3.criticism - a written evaluation of a work of literature
piece of writing, written material, writing - the work of a writer; anything expressed in letters of the alphabet (especially when considered from the point of view of style and effect); "the writing in her novels is excellent"; "that editorial was a fine piece of writing"
explication de texte - a method of literary criticism that analyzes details of a text in order to reveal its structure and meaning
textual criticism - comparison of a particular text with related materials in order to establish authenticity
new criticism - literary criticism based on close analysis of the text
analysis - a form of literary criticism in which the structure of a piece of writing is analyzed
critical review, critique, review article, review - an essay or article that gives a critical evaluation (as of a book or play)

criticism
noun 1. fault-finding, censure, disapproval, disparagement, stick (slang) knocking (informal) panning (informal) slamming (slang) slating (informal) flak (informal) slagging (slang) strictures, bad press, denigration, brickbats (informal) character assassination, critical remarks, animadversion
Translations

criticism [ˈkrɪtɪsɪzm] ncrítica
criticism [ˈkrɪtɪsɪzəm] critic ncritique f
criticism [ˈkrɪtɪsɪzəm] critic nKritik f
criticism [ˈkrɪtɪsɪzəm] ncritica


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
For the rest, so little do they conceal the reactionary character of their criticism that their chief accusation against the bourgeoisie amounts to this, that under the bourgeois regime a class is being developed, which is destined to cut up root and branch the old order of society.
They deal, to be sure, with the office of Criticism and the art of Fiction, and so far their present name is not a misnomer.
Challenger, who, being satisfied that no criticism or comment in this book is meant in an offensive spirit, has guaranteed that he will place no impediment to its publication and circulation.
 
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