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critical thinking
logical thinking
strategic thinking
crucial thinking
rational thinking
analytical thinking
a critical point
a crucial point
a vital point
a climactic point
an analytical point
a climatic point
critical importance
crucial importance
major importance
significant importance
essential importance
extreme importance
a critical review
a skeptical review
a careful review
a cynical review
a negative review
an analytical review
a critical period
an important period
a significant period
a definitive period
an essential period
a pivotal period

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective critical contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of critical are captious, carping, censorious, faultfinding, and hypercritical. While all these words 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

When might captious be a better fit than critical?

While the synonyms captious and critical are close in meaning, captious suggests a readiness to detect trivial faults or raise objections on trivial grounds.

a captious critic

Where would carping be a reasonable alternative to critical?

The synonyms carping and critical are sometimes interchangeable, but carping implies an ill-natured or perverse picking of flaws.

a carping editorial

When could censorious be used to replace critical?

The words censorious and critical can be used in similar contexts, but censorious implies a disposition to be severely critical and condemnatory.

the censorious tone of the review

When can faultfinding be used instead of critical?

Although the words faultfinding and critical have much in common, faultfinding implies a querulous or exacting temperament.

a faultfinding reviewer

When is it sensible to use hypercritical instead of critical?

The words hypercritical and critical are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, hypercritical suggests a tendency to judge by unreasonably strict standards.

hypercritical disparagement of other people's work

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of critical Meanwhile, staffing remains a critical issue, with Newark particularly hard-hit. Jackie Snow, Quartz, 19 May 2025 Conservatives pressing for more cuts The fiscal hawks struck first, defeating the bill on Friday in the critical Budget Committee and blocking the legislation from advancing toward a vote on the House floor. Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 19 May 2025 Collapse of Communal Kitchens Community kitchens in Gaza, once a critical safety net for thousands of families, have been decimated. Juwayriah Wright, Time, 19 May 2025 At least two of those injured were listed as critical according to Adams. Michelle Watson, CNN Money, 19 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for critical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for critical
Adjective
  • What is the cost of committing yourself to that particular ideal in a way that puts your life in the balance, potentially?
    Dalton Ross, EW.com, 16 May 2025
  • Over the past several decades, Wallen’s particular lyrical fascinations have grown impossibly coded, becoming shorthand for an entire world view.
    Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 16 May 2025
Adjective
  • This category is broad and urgent—people are dealing with stress, sleep disorders, focus issues, and more.
    Tanya Benedicto Klich, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025
  • Here's why and what happened CT officials issue urgent plea for help stopping ‘a plague’ in state waterways.
    Staff Reports, Hartford Courant, 24 May 2025
Adjective
  • As such, supplemental Federal assistance is crucial.
    Neal Earley, Arkansas Online, 23 May 2025
  • Southern states have caregiver programming, but Medicaid expansion is crucial, experts say In South Carolina there are more than 125,000 people living with dementia, according to the state's Alzheimer's Disease Registry.
    Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 22 May 2025
Adjective
  • Misty Copeland shares essential advice from Prince, favorite dish to cook, self-care tips The attitude required dealing with critics: 'Great empathy for these people' Years of criticism has taught Zee not to absorb the negativity of online trolls.
    Erin Jensen, USA Today, 17 May 2025
  • Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
    Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 16 May 2025
Adjective
  • Additionally, ensuring data accuracy and integrity within compliance features, especially for reporting and audit trails, can be technically demanding and prone to errors if not carefully managed.
    Suresh Kannan, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
  • That, plus more demanding processors, higher burst rates, and video modes, means mirrorless cameras get less battery life than DSLRs.
    PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 20 May 2025
Adjective
  • The sudden heat spike, which was made more likely by the decades-long failure to stop burning fossil fuels, creates an acute danger for a populace not yet acclimatized to summer heat.
    Saul Elbein, The Hill, 14 May 2025
  • Nearly 71,000 cases of acute malnutrition among children under five are expected between April 2025 and March 2026, the report said.
    Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 13 May 2025
Adjective
  • Qatar has also been a key financial backer of Hamas.
    Robert Schmad, The Washington Examiner, 25 May 2025
  • The Florida Panthers ended up being down two key forwards for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes.
    Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 25 May 2025
Adjective
  • Constant vigilance is necessary because drownings can happen within minutes, and young children especially can wander off or duck out of sight quickly.
    Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 20 May 2025
  • This might mean caps on unlimited PTO during certain times of year, or that advance approval is necessary.
    Erika Ebsworth-Goold, Travel + Leisure, 19 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Critical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/critical. Accessed 28 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on critical

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