criticise

C3R1I1T1I1C3I1S1E1

A form of criticize — To find fault (with something).

Less commonScrabble 13

Meanings

verbcriticise (third-person singular simple present criticises, present participle criticising, simple past and past participle criticised)

present singular third person criticises · participle present criticising · participle past criticised · past criticised

  1. UKambitransitivenonstandardNon-Oxford British English standard spelling of criticize.

    Both Cruddas and Collins are decentralisers, criticising New Labour for hoarding too much power in Whitehall.

    2009 March 25, Jonathan Freedland, “Call it 9/15 - the day the crucial divide in the post-Blair/Brown era took shape”, in The Guardian
    5 more examples

    Camden motive power depot has been much criticised for its emission of smoke in a residential neighbourhood and its complete dieselisation is rapidly taking place.

    1960 February, R. C. Riley, “The London-Birmingham services - Past, Present and Future”, in Trains Illustrated, page 99

    The Gunners boss has been heavily criticised for his side's poor start to the Premier League season but this result helps lift the pressure.

    2011 September 24, David Ornstein, “Arsenal 3 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC Sport

    Serlio criticises the artistic licence taken by both ancient and contemporary architects, here specifically related to the confusion created by the rich decoration of the arch–in his illustrations, he stripped the monument of most of its beautifully […]

    2017, Allison Sherman, Artistic Practices and Cultural Transfer in Early Modern Italy: Essays in Honour of Deborah Howard, Routledge, →ISBN

    This is not to criticise Ghosh's use of such lexis, but just to point out that Ghosh's use of such lexis must be regarded as examples of re-use and not as evidence of continued use over the intervening period.

    2018, James Lambert, “Anglo-Indian slang in dictionaries on historical principles”, in World Englishes, volume 37, page 256

    However, unions have criticised the move, suggesting it puts staff members and passengers at risk. One RAIL source criticised the lack of information received by the industry as to who would be travelling.

    2020 May 20, Richard Clinnick, “Network News: More trains... but advice is not to travel”, in Rail, page 6

Synonyms & antonyms

verbfind fault with; express criticism of; point out real or perceived flaws

verbact as a critic

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Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

criticise. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/criticise

MLA

“criticise.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/criticise. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “criticise,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/criticise.

Source: criticise on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.