Criticism is the practice of judging the merits and faults of something. The judger is called "the critic". To engage in criticism is "to criticise"/"criticize". One specific item of criticism is called "a criticism" or a "critique".Criticism as an evaluative or corrective exercise can occur in any area of human life. Criticism can therefore take many different forms (see below). How exactly people go about criticizing, can vary a great deal.