What does animadvert mean?
To animadvert is to criticize — specifically, to make pointed, often formal remarks about someone's faults or shortcomings. The verb is nearly always followed by 'upon' or 'on', as when a critic animadverts upon a writer's sloppy reasoning or a statesman's misjudgments. Derived from Latin roots meaning 'to turn the mind toward', it entered English in the early seventeenth century and was once used more neutrally simply to mean noticing something; over time, however, it settled into its modern sense of censuring. Today it is a distinctly formal and literary word, more likely to appear in reviews, polemics, or elevated prose than in everyday conversation, and it carries an unmistakably disapproving tone. Its noun counterpart is animadversion, which denotes the critical remark itself. For writers seeking a weighty, precise alternative to 'criticize', animadvert offers both precision and pedigree, though its formality can read as stilted in casual contexts.
verbTo make critical or censorious remarks; to comment adversely upon something.
- To pass criticism upon something; to remark adversely.
- (Rare, older use) To take notice of something; to turn one's attention to it.
"The reviewer did not scruple to animadvert upon the author's careless scholarship."
"The editorial animadverted sharply upon the government's handling of the crisis."
"In his memoirs he animadverts freely on the foibles of his former colleagues."
Animadvert literally means 'to turn one's mind toward' in Latin — but in English it almost always means turning your mind toward something in order to criticize it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of animadvert
Animadvert comes from the Latin verb animadvertere, formed from animus ('mind') plus advertere ('to turn toward'), originally meaning 'to turn one's attention to'. English adopted it in the early seventeenth century, at first with the neutral sense of taking notice of something, before the meaning narrowed to making critical observations. It shares its advertere root with words such as advert, avert, and adverse.
Related word forms
How animadvert is actually used
Formal and somewhat literary or old-fashioned in register; typically followed by 'upon' or 'on'. It carries an inherently negative connotation of censure, so it should not be used for neutral observation in modern English.
Easily confused with animadvert
Animadversion is the noun form meaning a critical remark itself, while animadvert is the verb meaning to make such a remark.