Alternatives to "Constructive Criticism"

I'm a big fan of constructive criticism, but I'm afraid that the term has become a cliche - or even a buzzword!

What are some good synonyms for it?


Critique is less forceful in a negative way than criticism. E.g. as a verb:

He critiqued the movie script.

That would not come across as unconstructive. Critique as a verb seems quite valuable in this scenario.

Also, there is nothing wrong with using your own phraseology, even if it's not a common expression. Hence you could say helpful criticism, where the helpful has more positive force to it than constructive, due to the latter's overuse. There are many other ways to communicate this as well. For instance, you could say someone offered some efficacious remarks.


Simply call it "feedback", without trying to qualify it further.

(Works best in business environments; I would not give my wife feedback, for example. I would share something with her.)