criticize to say what you think is bad about someone or something:
He was criticized for not being tough enough with the terrorists. Stop criticizing my friends! It’s easy to criticize, but not so easy to offer helpful solutions.be critical of somebody/something to criticize someone or something, especially by giving detailed reasons for this:
The report was highly critical of the police investigation. The press have been critical of his leadership style.attack to criticize someone or something very strongly, especially publicly in the newspapers, on TV etc:
They attacked the government’s decision to undertake nuclear weapons tests.lay into somebody/tear into somebody to criticize someone very strongly for something they have done, especially by shouting at them:
He started laying into one of his staff for being late.tear somebody/something to shreds to find a lot of things wrong with someone’s arguments or ideas and make them seem very weak:
The prosecution will tear him to shreds.pan to strongly criticize a film, play etc in the newspapers, on TV etc:
Her first movie was panned by the critics.be pilloried especially written to be strongly criticized by a lot of people in the newspapers, on TV etc:
He was pilloried in the right-wing press.condemn to say very strongly in public that you do not approve of something or someone, especially because you think they are morally wrong:
Politicians were quick to condemn the bombing.find fault with somebody/something to criticize things that you think are wrong with something, especially small and unimportant things:
He’s quick to find fault with other people’s work.pick holes in something informal to criticize something by finding many small faults in it, in a way that seems unreasonable and unfair:
Why are you always picking holes in my work?knock to criticize someone or something, in an unfair and unreasonable way:
I know it’s fashionable to knock Tony Blair, but I think he did a good job.slag off British English informal to criticize someone in an unfair and unpleasant way:
He’s always slagging you off behind your back. [TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲