Main Entry: crit·i·cal

Pronunciation: \ˈkri-ti-kəl\

Function: adjective

Date: 1547

1 a : of, relating to, or being a turning point or specially important juncture <a critical phase>: as (1) : relating to or being the stage of a disease at which an abrupt change for better or worse may be expected; also : being or relating to an illness or condition involving danger of death <critical care> <a patient listed in critical condition> (2) : relating to or being a state in which or a measurement or point at which some quality, property, or phenomenon suffers a definite change <critical temperature> b : crucial, decisive <a critical test> c : indispensable, vital <a critical waterfowl habitat> <a component critical to the operation of a machine> d : being in or approaching a state of crisis <a critical shortage> <a critical situation>
2 a : inclined to criticize severely and unfavorably b : consisting of or involving criticism <critical writings>; also : of or relating to the judgment of critics <the play was a critical success> c : exercising or involving careful judgment or judicious evaluation <critical thinking> d : including variant readings and scholarly emendations <a critical edition>
3 a : of sufficient size to sustain a chain reaction —used of a mass of fissionable material <a critical mass> b : sustaining a nuclear chain reaction <the reactor went critical>

— crit·i·cal·i·ty \ˌkri-tə-ˈka-lə-tē\ noun

— crit·i·cal·ly \ˈkri-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

— crit·i·cal·ness \-kəl-nəs\ noun

synonyms critical, hypercritical, faultfinding, captious, carping, censorious mean inclined to look for and point out faults and defects. critical may also imply an effort to see a thing clearly and truly in order to judge it fairly <a critical essay>. hypercritical suggests a tendency to judge by unreasonably strict standards <hypercritical disparagement of other people's work>. faultfinding implies a querulous or exacting temperament <a faultfinding reviewer>. captious suggests a readiness to detect trivial faults or raise objections on trivial grounds <a captious critic>. carping implies an ill-natured or perverse picking of flaws <a carping editorial>. censorious implies a disposition to be severely critical and condemnatory <the censorious tone of the review>.

synonyms see in addition acute