Master confusing words with ease
Criteria vs. Criterion
Criteria
/kraɪ'tɪərɪə/Examples:
The chef uses several criteria to judge the competition dishes.Students must meet certain criteria to graduate with honors.Job applicants are evaluated based on specific criteria.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
This word has no antonymsCriterion
/kraɪˈtɪəriən/Examples:
Apprentices learned three broad criteria of scientific judgment.The third criterion was originality.A key criterion was the project's sustainability potential.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
- The word criteria refers to multiple standards or rules, while criterion refers to just one.
- Remember that criteria is the plural form, similar to the way data is a plural form too.
- Use criterion when you are talking about a single standard to judge something.
- For plural, think of multiple factors – each can be a criterion, together they become criteria.
- The ending -a in criteria signals it's not a singular noun.
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