1
as in standard
something set up as an example against which others of the same type are compared
one criterion for grading these essays will be their conformity to the rules of traditional grammar
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in characteristic
something that sets apart an individual from others of the same kind
an exceptionally high degree of physical risk is the preeminent criterion of an extreme sport
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of criterion
Players with at least three years but fewer than six years of big league service time are eligible for arbitration, as are a small handful of players with two years that meet certain criteria.
—
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 8 Jan. 2026
Changes in the law regarding youth offenders and subsequent court rulings led a San Diego Superior Court judge on Tuesday to find that Williams fit the criteria to be resentenced.
—Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Jan. 2026
The City of Detroit saw significant drops in the numbers of homicides and other violent crimes during 2025, based on the crime statistics that are tallied in keeping with Michigan State Police and FBI criteria.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
What current head-coaching candidate fits that criteria?
—Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for criterion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for criterion
Noun
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An example of a standard in summer is a sherbert series featuring lactose and vanilla.—
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Recent data showed that police response is becoming faster, but still lags behind California standards.—
Noun
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But there are other factors that needled their way into the evolutionary development of dormancy characteristics.—
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There’s no single definition in our modern times, but experts generally agree on a few characteristics.—
Noun
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Its benchmark report notes that even state-of-the-art tools can describe the right formula in words while misapplying it step by step.—
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And because the world has more oil supply than demand, global crude prices are quite low; the global benchmark is a little over $60 per barrel.—
Noun
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This is not always the case, however, as rates, service quality, and coverage features often vary widely.—
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Of the 14 teams that qualified for the playoffs, eight feature a player with Idaho ties on their roster.—
Noun
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The measure will later go to the council for full approval.—
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The measures, which had been agreed to in writing in mid-November 2023, were intended to address Lively’s concerns about on-set conduct and safety.—
Noun
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Rejecting the streamlining and modernizing approach of many recent translations, Mendelsohn artfully reproduces the epic’s formal qualities—meter, enjambment, alliteration, assonance—and in so doing restores to Homer’s masterwork its archaic grandeur.—
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Donate today to preserve the quality and integrity of local journalism.—
Noun
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By examining liver cells as the disease progressed, researchers saw that healthy liver functions slowly shut down and survival traits took over.—
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The Louisville transfer features the size (6-6, 325), length and explosive traits NFL defensive coordinators covet and QBs usually lose sleep over.—
Noun
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Jake shares some similar attributes with his father.—
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Our research focused on products with clear attributes, such as taste or comfort, and on consumers who already knew their preferences.—
Cite this Entry
“Criterion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/criterion. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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