Both Uses of
critical
in
Death of a Salesman
- LINDA: You shouldn't have criticized him, Willy, especially after he just got off the train.†
Act 1 *criticized = gave an opinion of what was wrong with somethingstandard suffix: The suffix "-ize" converts a word to a verb. This is the same pattern you see in words like apologize, theorize, and dramatize.
- Is that a criticism?†
Act 1
Definitions:
-
(1)
(critical as in: a critical problem) important, serious, or dangerous
-
(2)
(critical as in: don't be so critical) finding fault and telling others; or tending to have unfavorable opinions
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(3)
(critical as in: critical acclaim) relating to careful analysis or thoughtful judgement of what is good and bad about something -- possibly from people whose job is to share their expert opinions in a given industry
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(4)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
See a comprehensive dictionary for more specialized senses of critical including those in mathematics and nuclear energy.