Criticism is the practice of judging the merits and faults of something or someone in an intelligible (or articulate) way.

• The judger is called "the critic".
• To engage in criticism is "to criticize".
• One specific item of criticism is called "a criticism".

This article provides information only about basic kinds of criticism, which are used generally by almost everybody at one time or another (for more specific types or areas of criticism, see the list at the bottom of this page, the (incomplete) category list for "criticism", and the criticism of (disambiguation) page).

Criticism can be:

• directed toward a person or an animal; at a group, authority or organization; at a specific behaviour; or at an object of some kind (an idea, a relationship, a condition, a process, or a thing).
• personal (delivered directly from one person to another, in a personal capacity), or impersonal (expressing the view of an organization, and not aimed at anyone personally).
• highly specific and detailed, or very abstract and general.
• verbal (expressed in language) or non-verbal (expressed symbolically, or expressed through an action or a way of behaving).
• explicit (the criticism is clearly stated) or implicit (a criticism is implied by what is being said, but it is not stated openly).
• the result of critical thinking [1] or spontaneous impulse.

To criticize does not necessarily imply "to find fault", but the word is often taken to mean the simple expression of an objection against prejudice, or a disapproval. Often criticism involves active disagreement, but it may only mean "taking sides". There may not be any fighting involved.

Criticism is often presented as something unpleasant, but it need not be. It could be friendly criticism, amicably discussed, and some people find great pleasure in criticism ("keeping people sharp", "providing the critical edge"). The Pulitzer Prize for Criticism has been presented since 1970 to a newspaper writer who has demonstrated 'distinguished criticism'.

Another meaning of criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature, artwork, film, and social trends (see the article links below). The goal of this type of criticism is to understand the possible meanings of cultural phenomena, and the context in which they take shape. In so doing, the attempt is often made to evaluate how cultural productions relate to other cultural productions, and what their place is within a particular genre, or a particular cultural tradition.

Criticism as an evaluative or corrective exercise can occur in any area of human life. Criticism can therefore take many different forms. How exactly people go about criticizing, can vary a great deal. In specific areas of human endeavour, the form of criticism can be highly specialized and technical; it often requires professional knowledge to understand the criticism.

Noun

criticism (countable and uncountable; plural criticisms)

1. The act of criticising; a critical judgment passed or expressed; a critical observation or detailed examination and review; a critique; animadversion; censure.

   The politician received a lot of public criticism for his controversial stance on the issue.

   • 1874, Thomas Hardy, Far From the Madding Crowd, Barnes & Noble Classics (2005 publication of 1912 Wessex edition), page 276:

     Her attitude was that of a person who listens, either to the external world of sound, or to the discourse of thought. A close criticism might have detected signs proving that she was intent on the latter alternative.

Derived terms

• self-criticism
• constructive criticism
• destructive criticism
• literary criticism

Criticism is the activity of judgement or informed interpretation. In literary and academic contexts, the term most frequently refers to literary criticism, art criticism, or other such fields, and to scholars' attempts to understand the aesthetic object in depth.

Contents

• 1 Sourced
  • 1.1 Film
  • 1.2 Comics
  • 1.3 Art
  • 1.4 Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations
  • 1.5 Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895)
• 2 Unsourced
• 3 External links

Reformed Epistemology Information (Plantinga, Basic, Faith ...
Another common criticism is that as a tool for discriminating justified from ... Reformed Epistemology Information (Plantinga, Basic, Faith) @ Flexing.us
www.flexing.us/reformed_epistemology/encyclopedia.htm

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J. M. Barrie Information (Peter Pan, Hospital, Children, Hook ...
Literary criticism of these early works has been unfavourable, tending to disparage ... J. M. Barrie Information (Peter Pan, Hospital, Children, Hook) @ Flexing.us
www.flexing.us/j._m._barrie/encyclopedia.htm

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Science: Anomalies and Alternative Science
Criticism of Darwinism (34) Crop Circles@ (74) Cryonics@ (49) Earth Lights (6) Extraterrestrial Life ...

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Computers: Programming: Methodologies: Object ...
Criticism (8) Metaobject Protocols@ (4) Operating Systems@ (62) Organizations (1) Programming Languages ...

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Arts: Literature
Libraries@ (2,535) Magazines and E-zines (134) Online Reading (16) Performance (8) Personal Pages (0) Reading Groups (78) Reviews and Criticism (215)