Word of the Day

: August 22, 2009

animadversion

noun an-uh-mad-VER-zhun

What It Means

1 : a critical and usually censorious remark -- often used with "on"

2 : adverse criticism

animadversion in Context

The film critic seems to have offered animadversions on nearly every movie made this year.

Did You Know?

"Animadversion" comes ultimately from the Latin phrase "animum advertere," meaning "to turn the mind to." It is easy to see how we also get "adverse" and "adversary" from "advertere," especially when we remember that "to turn to" easily becomes "to turn against." Other English words descended from "advertere" include "advert," meaning "to turn the attention (to)" or "to make reference (to)," and "advertise."