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Definition of "animadversion" []

  • Strong criticism. (noun)
  • A critical or censorious remark: "entertained serious animadversions concerning the U.S.S.R. and its behavior on the international scene” ( Adam B. Ulam). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "animadversion" in a sentence
  • "The steps for accelerating the Catholic emancipation passed without animadversion from the English Ministry; but the dismissal of Mr. Beresford, and his adherents, gave great of - fence to the Cabinet of London."
  • "For centuries, women writers were sweepingly dismissed on the basis of gender, as in Nathaniel Hawthorne's notorious animadversion against the "damned mob of scribbling women" robbing him of the sales he felt he deserved."
  • "Of late, however, as the Protestant doctrines gained ground, he had found it convenient to live in close retirement, and to avoid, as much as possible, drawing upon himself observation or animadversion."