HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY
To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.
Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.
THE USAGE PANEL
The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP
The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG
The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.
INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?
Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com
v. crit·i·cized, crit·i·ciz·ing, crit·i·ciz·es v.tr. 2. To judge the merits and faults of; analyze and evaluate: criticizes art for a living. v.intr. To act as a critic. criti·ciz′a·ble adj. criti·ciz′er n. Synonyms: criticize, censure, condemn, denounce, decry These verbs mean to express an unfavorable judgment. Criticize can mean merely to evaluate without necessarily finding fault; however, usually the word implies the expression of disapproval: formed a panel to criticize the students' works; was angry when his parents criticized the way he dressed. Censure refers to the often formal pronouncement of strong criticism: "[He] censured from the pulpit what many others have welcomed as a much-needed religious awakening" (John Edgar Wideman). Condemn usually applies to harsh moral judgment: "The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant and so devastating that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored because it cannot survive their being repeated" (Robert H. Jackson). Denounce and decry imply public proclamation of condemnation or repudiation: "Fictionalizing in the writing of biography ... has been largely denounced by critics ... and teachers" (Margaret Bush). "The worship of the senses has often, and with much justice, been decried" (Oscar Wilde). |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
