critical
[krit-i-kuh l]
- inclined to find fault or to judge with severity, often too readily.
- occupied with or skilled in criticism.
- involving skillful judgment as to truth, merit, etc.; judicial: a critical analysis.
- of or relating to critics or criticism: critical essays.
- providing textual variants, proposed emendations, etc.: a critical edition of Chaucer.
- pertaining to or of the nature of a crisis: a critical shortage of food.
- of decisive importance with respect to the outcome; crucial: a critical moment.
- of essential importance; indispensable: a critical ingredient.
- Medicine/Medical. (of a patient's condition) having unstable and abnormal vital signs and other unfavorable indicators, as loss of appetite, poor mobility, or unconsciousness.
- Physics.
- pertaining to a state, value, or quantity at which one or more properties of a substance or system undergo a change.
- (of fissionable material) having enough mass to sustain a chain reaction.
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Origin of critical
Synonyms
See more synonyms for critical on Thesaurus.com1. captious, censorious, carping, faultfinding, caviling. 3. discriminating, exact, precise.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for critically
Contemporary Examples
Most critically, the split perspectives of Noah and Alison need to marry more elegantly.
This is a critically important role, and something I've seen firsthand.
The Valerie Jarrett I Know: How She Saved the Obama Campaign and Why She’s IndispensableJoshua DuBois
November 18, 2014
The film was critically panned upon its release, but has since gained a cult following.
Charles Dance on Tywin Lannister’s S5 Return, A ‘Game of Thrones’ Movie,’ and Sexy Peter DinklageMarlow Stern
November 18, 2014
Most people pay attention to this only in regards the Supreme Court, but the lower courts are also critically important.
The Hangover star, currently in the critically acclaimed Birdman, certainly knows how to bring the funny as well as the awkward.
Historical Examples
"They're pretty well fixed here," observed Kingozi critically.
The Leopard WomanStewart Edward White
He looked at them critically and replied: "Certainly they are lean."
Green MansionsW. H. Hudson
She looked at him critically, her head a little on one side.
People of PositionStanley Portal Hyatt
He stared critically, and remained staring, but not critically.
Louisiana LouWilliam West Winter
And the man who "must be there himself" was critically ill and unconscious!
The Rise of Roscoe PaineJoseph C. Lincoln
critical
- containing or making severe or negative judgments
- containing careful or analytical evaluationsa critical dissertation
- of or involving a critic or criticism
- of or forming a crisis; crucial; decisivea critical operation
- urgently neededcritical medical supplies
- informal so seriously injured or ill as to be in danger of dying
- physics of, denoting, or concerned with a state in which the properties of a system undergo an abrupt changea critical temperature
- go critical (of a nuclear power station or reactor) to reach a state in which a nuclear-fission chain reaction becomes self-sustaining
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for critically
critical
adj.
1580s, "censorious," from critic + -al (1). Meaning "pertaining to criticism" is from 1741; medical sense is from c.1600; meaning "of the nature of a crisis" is from 1640s; that of "crucial" is from 1841, from the "decisive" sense in Latin criticus. Related: Criticality (1756; in the nuclear sense, 1950); critically (1650s, "accurately;" 1815, "in a critical situation"). In nuclear science, critical mass is attested from 1940.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
critical
(krĭt′ĭ-kəl)- Of or relating to a medical crisis.
- Being or relating to a grave physical condition especially of a patient.
- Of or relating to the value of a measurement, such as temperature, at which an abrupt change in a chemical of physical quality, property, or state occurs.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.