critical
critical Lexical Profile
critical Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Having a decisive or vital importance in the success, failure, or existence of something.
"Clear communication is critical to the success of any collaborative engineering project."
Expressing adverse or disapproving comments or judgments.
"The auditor's report was highly critical of the company's outdated accounting practices."
Involving the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue, text, or work of art in order to form a sound judgment.
"University seminars are designed to foster critical thinking and independent research skills."
Relating to a point of crisis or grave danger, especially regarding a patient's life-threatening medical condition.
"The patient remained in critical condition in the intensive care unit following the surgery."
Designating the exact point at which a physical property abruptly changes or a nuclear chain reaction becomes self-sustaining.
"When the core reaches critical mass, the nuclear fission reaction becomes self-sustaining."
• Rhymes for critical
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-16th century from Late Latin criticus, from Ancient Greek kritikos ('able to discern or judge'), ultimately derived from krinein ('to separate, decide, or judge'). It originally entered English as a medical term describing the decisive turning point of an illness.