critical
Americanadjective
-
inclined to find fault or to judge with severity, often too readily.
Parents who are too critical make their children anxious.
- Synonyms:
- carping, censorious, captious, faultfinding
-
involving criticism, or skillful judgment as to truth, merit, etc..
The article provides a critical analysis of the Gulf War.
- Synonyms:
- precise, exact, judicious, discriminating
-
occupied with or skilled in criticism.
She was one of the great critical journalists of the 20th century.
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of or relating to critics or criticism, especially of literature, film, music, etc..
Critical appreciation of this author’s work has peaked in recent years.
-
providing textual variants, proposed emendations, etc..
The library has a new critical edition of Chaucer.
-
of the nature of a crisis; threatening a seriously bad outcome; grave.
There was a critical shortage of food.
-
of decisive importance with respect to the outcome; crucial.
The nation is facing a critical moment in its history.
-
Cocoa butter is a critical ingredient in chocolate.
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Medicine/Medical. having unstable and abnormal vital signs and other unfavorable indicators, as loss of appetite, poor mobility, or unconsciousness.
The patient has been upgraded from critical to stable.
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Physics.
-
pertaining to a state, value, or quantity at which one or more properties of a substance or system undergo a change.
The critical temperature of benzene is 289° C.
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(of fissionable material) having enough mass to sustain a chain reaction.
They told us about a lab where some plutonium went critical.
-
adjective
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containing or making severe or negative judgments
-
containing careful or analytical evaluations
a critical dissertation
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of or involving a critic or criticism
-
of or forming a crisis; crucial; decisive
a critical operation
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urgently needed
critical medical supplies
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informal so seriously injured or ill as to be in danger of dying
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physics of, denoting, or concerned with a state in which the properties of a system undergo an abrupt change
a critical temperature
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(of a nuclear power station or reactor) to reach a state in which a nuclear-fission chain reaction becomes self-sustaining
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of critical
Explanation
The adjective critical has several meanings, among them, "vital," "verging on emergency," "tending to point out errors," and "careful." If you're an emergency-room doctor with a patient in critical condition (on the highest alert), it's absolutely critical (vital or essential) that you be critical (careful and judicious) in your approach to their care, so that at the critical (decisive) moment, you can save their life. You must also be critical (that is, you must point out all the errors and flaws) of the jobs your colleagues are doing.
Vocabulary lists containing critical
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 2
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is a “mastermind of financial engineering,” said Spencer Jackson, a former SpaceX engineer and the CEO of Critical Energy, a startup working on making clean energy more accessible.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 12, 2026
Critical geological information about the exact discovery site was missing, and Richard had passed away several years earlier.
From Science Daily • Jun. 12, 2026
Brodie Sutherland, CEO of Nevada-based tungsten mining company Patriot Critical Minerals, said his firm hired a lobbyist.
From Salon • May 31, 2026
UPS won’t offer pickup or delivery service on Monday, though Express Critical services are available 24/7.
From Barron's • May 25, 2026
Critical evidence: How the arts benefit student achievement.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
