Both Uses of
critical
in
A Great and Terrible Beauty
- One by one, he criticizes us nearly to death.†
Chpt 28 *criticizes = gives an opinion of what is 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.
- All she seems to do is drive me mad with her criticism.†
Chpt 13
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
-
(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
-
(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.