Criticism

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Criticism \Crit"i*cism\ (kr?t"?-s?z'm), n.
     1. The rules and principles which regulate the practice of
        the critic; the art of judging with knowledge and
        propriety of the beauties and faults of a literary
        performance, or of a production in the fine arts; as,
        dramatic criticism.


        [1913 Webster]
  
              The elements ofcriticism depend on the two
              principles of Beauty and Truth, one of which is the
              final end or object of study in every one of its
              pursuits: Beauty, in letters and the arts; Truth, in
              history and sciences.                 --Brande & C.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              By criticism, as it was first instituted by
              Aristotle, was meant a standard of judging well.
                                                    --Dryden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. The act of criticising; a critical judgment passed or
        expressed; a critical observation or detailed examination
        and review; a critique; animadversion; censure.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              About the plan of "Rasselas" little was said by the
              critics; and yet the faults of the plan might seem
              to invite severe criticism.           --Macaulay.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  criticism
       n 1: disapproval expressed by pointing out faults or
            shortcomings; "the senator received severe criticism
            from his opponent" [syn: {unfavorable judgment}]
       2: a serious examination and judgment of something;
          "constructive criticism is always appreciated" [syn: {critique}]
       3: a written evaluation of a work of literature [syn: {literary
          criticism}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  99 Moby Thesaurus words for "criticism":
     adverse criticism, analysis, animadversion, appraisal, approval,
     aspersion, assessment, bad notices, bad press, book review,
     captiousness, carping, cavil, caviling, censoriousness, censure,
     comment, commentary, commentation, condemnation,
     critical bibliography, critical journal, critical notice,
     critical review, critique, cryptanalysis, cryptography, cryptology,
     diagnostics, disapproval, disparagement, editorial, epigraphy,
     estimate, estimation, evaluation, examination, exception,
     exegetics, faultfinding, flak, gloss, hairsplitting, hermeneutics,
     hit, home thrust, hostile criticism, hypercriticalness,
     hypercriticism, imputation, judgement, knock, leader,
     leading article, lexicography, literary criticism, metoposcopy,
     nagging, niggle, niggling, nit, nit-picking, notice, obloquy,
     observation, oneirology, opinion, overcriticalness, paleography,
     pathognomy, pestering, pettifogging, physiognomics, physiognomy,
     priggishness, quibble, quibbling, rap, rating, reflection, remark,
     renew, report, reproachfulness, review, running commentary,
     semeiology, semeiotics, slam, stricture, study, swipe,
     symptomatology, taking exception, textual criticism,
     trichoschistism, tropology, valuation, write-up
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  CRITICISM.  The art of judging skillfully of the merits or beauties, defects 
  or faults of a literary or scientific performance, or of a production of 
  art; when the criticism is reduced to writing, the writing itself is called 
  a criticism. 
       2. Liberty of criticism must be allowed, or there would be neither 
  purity of taste nor of morals. Fair discussion, is essentially necessary to, 
  the truth of history and advancement of science. That publication therefore, 
  is not a libel, which has for its object, not to injure the reputation of an 
  individual, but to correct misrepresentations of facts, to refute 
  sophistical reasoning, to expose a vicious taste for literature, or to 
  censure what is hostile to morality. Campb. R. 351-2.  As every man who 
  publishes a book commits himself to the judgment of the public, any one may 
  comment on his performance.  If the commentator does not step aside from the 
  work, or introduce fiction for the purpose of condemnation, he exercises a 
  fair and legitimate right. And the critic does a good service to the public 
  who writes down any vapid or useless publication such as ought never to have 
  appeared; and, although the author may suffer a loss from it, the law does 
  not consider such loss an injury; because it is a loss which the party ought 
  to sustain. It is the loss of fame and profit, to which he was never 
  entitled. 1 Campb. R. 358, n. See 1 Esp. N. P. Cas. 28; 2 Stark. Cas. 73; 4 
  Bing. N. S. 92; S. C. 3 Scott, 340;. 1 M. & M. 44; 1 M. & M. 187; Cooke on 
  Def. 52.