criterion
Basis for evaluation
A criterion is a standard or rule for judging something—for example, whether a thing can be considered a member of a class on the basis of its characteristics.
Few things are judged by a single criterion, and so the irregular plural criteria is much more frequently used.
The verb that typically precedes criteria is meet: Before they are officially approved, laboratories must meet the criteria for each analysis.
Standard for comparison
- yardstickThirty-six-inch ruler
- baselineStandard for comparison
- touchstoneStandard for evaluation
- thresholdPoint of beginning
norm · guideline · specification · requirement · parameter · metric · gauge · barometer
Formal evaluation of worth
- appraisalEstimation of worth
- reviewCritical written assessment
- gradingAssigning marks to work
- scoringEarning points in competition
rating · judgment · consideration · examination · scrutiny · analysis · inspection · measurement
Settled course of action
- verdictOfficial court decision
- determinationFirmness of purpose
- discernmentKeen perception and judgment
- adjudicationFormal decision on disputes
arbitration · deliberation · ruling · conclusion · opinion · reasoning · rationale · justification
Self-evident starting principle
- tenetHeld principle or doctrine
- preceptRule governing behavior
- doctrineEstablished body of teachings
- canonAccepted authoritative works
fundamental · truth · basis · foundation · premise · postulate · assumption · condition
benchmark
Standard for comparison
- yardstickThirty-six-inch ruler
- baselineStandard for comparison
- touchstoneStandard for evaluation
threshold · norm · guideline · specification · requirement · parameter · metric · gauge · barometer · litmus
assessment
Formal evaluation of worth
scoring · rating · judgment · consideration · examination · scrutiny · analysis · inspection · measurement · rubric
decision
Settled course of action
- verdictOfficial court decision
- determinationFirmness of purpose
- discernmentKeen perception and judgment
adjudication · arbitration · deliberation · ruling · conclusion · opinion · reasoning · rationale · justification · basis
axiom
Self-evident starting principle
canon · fundamental · truth · basis · foundation · premise · postulate · assumption · condition · stipulation
- standardsstandard, standards, norm, norms, specification
- assessmentevaluating, test, analyzing, exam, assessing
- Greek wordsalpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon
- normsnorm, norms, standard, social norms, rule
- qualificationsqualifications, credentials, qualified, competent, eligibility
- requirementsrequirement, requirements, prerequisite, requisite, requisites
criterionwhim
Sudden arbitrary desire
guess · caprice · random selection · wild guess · hunch
criterionchange
To make different
variability · inconsistency · fluctuation · caprice · moving target
criteriondeviation
Departure from expected path
aberration · abnormality · exception · anomaly · outlier
- eligibility criteriaConditions for consideration
- admissions criteriaStandards for acceptance
- grading criteriaStandards for evaluation
- judging criteriaBasis for evaluation
- selection criteriaStandards for choosing
- Lawson criterionMinimum conditions for fusion ignition