criticize
crit·i·cize/ˈkɹɪtɪsaɪz/verb
criticize is spelled C-R-I-T-I-C-I-Z-E, 3 syllables: crit·i·cize. The wrong spelling people search most is critisize: about 200 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 10 of all searches for the word. Criticize is a verb meaning “To find fault (with something)”.
How many letters and syllables are in criticize?
| Letters | 9: C-R-I-T-I-C-I-Z-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: crit·i·cize |
| In writing | 4.3 times per million words; the 12,397th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, critisize, about 200 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell criticize?
Criticize is spelled C-R-I-T-I-C-I-Z-E. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 10 of the searches for criticize in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is criticize?
Criticize appears 4.3 times per million words in written English, the 12,397th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce criticize?
- /ˈkɹɪtɪsaɪz/
Criticize has 3 syllables, split crit·i·cize in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-criticize.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with criticize
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: criticise.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of criticize
- criticizes present, singular, he/she/it
- criticizing participle, present
- criticized participle, past
- criticise
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does criticize mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
BritishUSTo find fault (with something).
They criticized him for endangering people's lives.
- 2
BritishUSTo evaluate (something), assessing its merits and faults.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Criticize in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | critiquer |
| German | kritisieren, Kritik üben , abwägen |
| Portuguese | criticar, culpar , avaliar |
| Spanish | criticar, culpar , juzgar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does criticize come from?
From critic + -ize; first element from Ancient Greek κριτικός (kritikós, “of or for judging, able to discern”), from κρίσις (krísis, “decision, judgement”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).