What does "critical" mean?
A critical value, factor, etc.
Critical
/ˈkɹɪt.ɪ.kəl/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A critical value, factor, etc.
- Grammar: critical is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: vital, abstruse, academic dissent, accurate.
- Useful contrasts: academic indoctrination, acritical, adulatory.
- Usage evidence: You are too critical of others' shortcomings.
How to use "critical"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "critical" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "critical" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "critical" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "critical" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "critical" is acting as adj, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "vital" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "critical", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A critical value, factor, etc.
"The second undamped system criticals show a greater percentage depression than the first."
- 2 In breakdancing, a kind of airflare move in which the dancer hops from one hand to the other.
Adjective
- 1 Inclined to find fault or criticize.
"A good teacher is fair but critical."
- 2 Pertaining to, or indicating, a crisis or turning point.
"This is a critical moment."
- 3 Extremely important.
"It's critical that you deliver this on time."
- 4 Relating to criticism or careful analysis, such as literary or film criticism.
"The movie was a critical success, but bombed at the box-office."
- 5 Relating to criticism or careful analysis, such as literary or film criticism.; Employing or related to textual criticism, particularly through a stemmatological comparison of all extant texts and reconstruction of the original.
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 Of a patient condition involving unstable vital signs and a prognosis that predicts the condition could worsen; or, a patient condition that requires urgent treatment in an intensive care or critical care medical facility.
"The patient's condition is critical."
- 7 In such a condition. broadly
"The patient is critical."
- 8 Likely to go out of control if disturbed, that is, opposite of stable.
"The political situation was so critical that the government declared the state of siege."
- 9 Of the point (in temperature, reagent concentration etc.) where a nuclear or chemical reaction becomes self-sustaining.
"The reaction was about to become critical."
- 10 Of a temperature that is equal to the temperature of the critical point of a substance, i.e. the temperature above which the substance cannot be liquefied.
- 11 Needing great discrimination to be correctly classified; easily confused.
"critical plants"
Adjective
- 1 marked by a tendency to find and call attention to errors and flaws wordnet
- 2 characterized by careful evaluation and judgment wordnet
- 3 being in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency wordnet
- 4 at or of a point at which a property or phenomenon suffers an abrupt change especially having enough mass to sustain a chain reaction wordnet
- 5 forming or having the nature of a turning point or crisis wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 urgently needed; absolutely necessary wordnet
- 7 of or involving or characteristic of critics or criticism wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"You are too critical of others' shortcomings."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "critical"?
Common synonyms include: vital, abstruse, academic dissent, accurate, acute, acute observer.
How do you use "critical" in a sentence?
You are too critical of others' shortcomings.
How do you pronounce "critical"?
Pronounced /ˈkɹɪt.ɪ.kəl/.
Etymology
From Latin criticus + -al, from Ancient Greek κριτικός (kritikós, “of or for judging, able to discern”), from κρίνω (krínō, “I separate, judge”); also the root of crisis.