criticise

Name: criticise, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

verb

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“criticise” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,337. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,337
frequency rank, English: 5,599
“C” headwords: 13
tracked misspellings: 2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of criticize.

Corpus desk

Index EN-criticise · criticise · English

criticise · rank #22,337 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

FREQ-MID #22,337
LEN-LONG 9 letters
VOW-4 4 vowels
CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
VAR-HIGH 13 variants
BOOK-DENSE 5,599
PHOTO-FINISH Crete

Nearest frequency peer: Crete (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

courteous

77,667
Crete

77,665
criticise

77,664
Cupid

77,663
curiously

77,662
damning

77,661

What this shows “criticise” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

criticise vs criticism

89% similar

criticise vs criticize

89% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for criticise
Property	Value
Headword	criticise
Language	English
Part of speech	Verb
Letters	9
Frequency rank	#22,337
Misspellings tracked	13
Confusable pairs	2
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “criticise”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).criticiselands here:

#22,337

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Crete” (#22,336), “Cupid” (#22,338), “curiously” (#22,339). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “criticise” is #22,337. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around criticise, averb. Corpus frequency is #22,337 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of criticize.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for criticise, with forms such as "ccriticise", "cirticise", and "criitcise". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "criticism", "criticize", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From critic + -ise, see criticize. The correct English form is criticise, spelled C-R-I-T-I-C-I-S-E.

Definition

1
Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of criticize.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how criticise appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

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

Etymology

From critic + -ise, see criticize.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

ccriticise
cirticise
criitcise
critciise
criticcise
criticies
criticisse
criticsie
critiicse
critticise
crriticise
crtiicise
rciticise

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of criticise - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Edit distance from "criticise"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "criticise"?

"criticise" is spelled C-R-I-T-I-C-I-S-E.

What does "criticise" mean?

As a verb, "criticise" means: Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of criticize.

What words are commonly confused with "criticise"?

"criticise" is commonly confused with "criticism", "criticize". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

What is the origin of the word "criticise"?

From critic + -ise, see criticize. See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "criticise", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

curiously#22,339 courteous#22,334 correlate#22,332 clockwork#22,326

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

Chalmers13 variants Chadwick13 variants blinding13 variants asteroids13 variants