All 5 Uses of
critical
in
Animal Farm
- The animals lashed ropes round these, and then all together, cows, horses, sheep, any animal that could lay hold of the rope — even the pigs sometimes joined in at critical moments — they dragged them with desperate slowness up the slope to the top of the quarry, where they were toppled over the edge, to shatter to pieces below.
p. 60..8 (definition 1)critical = important
- The plot was for Snowball, at the critical moment, to give the signal for flight and leave the field to the enemy.
p. 81..1 (definition 1)
- At any rate, they remembered that at the critical moment of the battle Snowball had turned to flee.
p. 81..8 (definition 1) *
- Then there came a moment when the first shock had worn off and when, in spite of everything — in spite of their terror of the dogs, and of the habit, developed through long years, of never complaining, never criticizing, no matter what happened — they might have uttered some word of protest.
p. 133..9 (definition 2) *criticizing = expressing unfavorable opinionsstandard suffix: The suffix "-ize" converts a word to a verb. This is the same pattern you see in words like apologize, theorize, and dramatize.
- He had only one criticism, he said, to make of Mr. Pilkington's excellent and neighborly speech.
p. 140..3 (definition 2)criticism = unfavorable opinion to share
Definitions:
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(1) (critical as in: a critical problem) important, serious, or dangerous
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(2) (critical as in: don't be so critical) finding fault and telling others; or tending to have unfavorable opinions