supercritical
Americanadjective
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extremely critical.
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Physics. pertaining to a mass of radioactive material in which the rate of a chain reaction increases with time.
adjective
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physics (of a fluid) brought to a temperature and pressure higher than its critical temperature and pressure, so that its physical and chemical properties change
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nuclear physics of or containing more than the critical mass
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of supercritical
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.
Beyond the critical point, water enters a supercritical state, and under everyday conditions, it already exists in this regime.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 29, 2026
But in December, the government said it would keep Cirebon-1 open, citing its long potential lifespan and "supercritical" technology, which burns coal more efficiently than older plants.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
It relies on heating and pressurising water to such a high degree that it enters a new state of matter: a so-called supercritical state.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2025
Other suggested techniques, such as supercritical water oxidation or plasma reactors, have the same drawbacks.
From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2024
If I were supercritical of my human limitations to express "all-at-once" wisdom, I would say nothing.
From Humanistic Nursing by Paterson, Josephine G.
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.
