criterion
kry-TEER-ee-un
/kraɪˈtɪəriən/
A principle, standard, or rule by which something may be judged, evaluated, or decided.
Singular form of criteria; specifies a singular metric or dimension used for assessment.
The story behind the word. Directly adopted from Greek 'kriterion' (a means or standard of judging), derived from 'krinein' (to separate or judge). This same Greek root gave us 'critic', 'crisis', and 'hypocrisy'.
Word relationships
- benchmark: Benchmark is a reference standard, while criterion is a general rule or aspect being judged.
- standard: Standard implies a required level of quality, whereas criterion is the aspect evaluated.
Commonly confused with
- criteria: Criteria is the plural form of criterion. 'One criterion', but 'many criteria'.
Word family
- criteria (noun): Plural form of criterion.
- criterion-referenced (adjective): Evaluated against fixed criteria rather than relative class rank.
Collocations
- selection criterion
- primary criterion
- meet the criterion
- evaluation criterion
Example sentences
- "Grammatical accuracy is the primary criterion used to evaluate language proficiency in this module." Assessment design
- "Each criterion in the evaluation grid must be objectively measurable by independent graders." Grading frameworks
Memory hook
A CRITIC uses a CRITERION to judge performance. Rule used by a critic.
When not to use
Do not use 'criterion' as a plural noun (e.g., 'these criterion'); use 'criteria' for plural.
Fun facts
- 'Criterion-referenced testing' compares a student's performance against a fixed set of learning goals, unlike 'norm-referenced testing' which compares students to each other.
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