criticism

krĭt′ĭ-sĭz″əm

noun

The act of criticizing, especially adversely.

A critical comment or judgment.

The practice of analyzing, classifying, interpreting, or evaluating literary or other artistic works.

A critical article or essay; a critique.

The investigation of the origin and history of literary documents; textual criticism.

The art of judging of and defining the qualities or merits of a thing, especially of a literary or artistic work: as, the rules of criticism.

The act of criticizing; discrimination or discussion of merit, character, or quality; the exercise or application of critical judgment.

In a restricted sense, inquiry into the origin, history, authenticity, character, etc., of literary documents. Higher criticism concerns writings as a whole; lower criticism concerns the integrity or character of particular parts or passages.