Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun criterion

2 senses of criterion

Sense 1
standard, criterion, measure, touchstone -- (a basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated; "the schools comply with federal standards"; "they set the measure for all subsequent work")
       => system of measurement, metric -- (a system of related measures that facilitates the quantification of some particular characteristic)

Sense 2
criterion, standard -- (the ideal in terms of which something can be judged; "they live by the standards of their community")
       => ideal -- (the idea of something that is perfect; something that one hopes to attain)