animadvert means to criticise, to censure. It carries an Arena rating of 1604, earned across 23 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, animadvert ranks #243 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #1,323 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #2,326 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #2,985 of 17,135 for Most Malleable Words.
animadvert is pronounced /ˌænɪmædˈvɜːt/.
Why “animadvert” is a great word
ANIMADVERT — [Verb] To comment critically or unfavorably, especially in a formal or judicial manner. From the Latin animadvertere, from animus ("mind, spirit") and advertere ("to turn to"), literally 'to turn one's mind to', hence to notice or censure; first attested in English in the early 15th century. Unlike "criticize," a broad and general finding of fault, or "observe," a neutral act of remarking, to animadvert is to pivot one's full attention into a solemn act of judgment. It is the chill in the magistrate's pronouncement, the meticulous, damning footnote in a scholarly treatise, the precisely calibrated reprimand from a superior—the formal machinery of society pausing, just once, to note a failing it will not forgive.
Etymology
From Latin animadvertō, from Latin animum (“mind”) (accusative singular of animus (“mind; soul; life force”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁mos (“breath”), from *h₂enh₁- (“to breathe”)) + Latin advertō (“to turn to”) (from Latin ad- (“to”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd (“at; near”) + Latin vertō (“to turn”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn around”)).
verb
- To criticise, to censure.e.g.“Sir Walter has been duly animadverted on for this dangerous error by the erudite Mr. Todd.” — 1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 58:
- To consider.
- To turn judicial attention (to); to criticise or punish.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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