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Critical

//ˈkɹɪt.ɪ.kəl// adj, noun

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Inclined to find fault or criticize.

    "A good teacher is fair but critical."

  2. 2
    Pertaining to, or indicating, a crisis or turning point.

    "This is a critical moment."

  3. 3
    Extremely important.

    "It's critical that you deliver this on time."

  4. 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. 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.
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  1. 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."

  2. 7
    In such a condition. broadly

    "The patient is critical."

  3. 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."

  4. 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."

  5. 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.
  6. 11
    Needing great discrimination to be correctly classified; easily confused.

    "critical plants"

Adjective
  1. 1
    marked by a tendency to find and call attention to errors and flaws wordnet
  2. 2
    characterized by careful evaluation and judgment wordnet
  3. 3
    being in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency wordnet
  4. 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. 5
    forming or having the nature of a turning point or crisis wordnet
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  1. 6
    urgently needed; absolutely necessary wordnet
  2. 7
    of or involving or characteristic of critics or criticism wordnet
Noun
  1. 1
    A critical value, factor, etc.

    "The second undamped system criticals show a greater percentage depression than the first."

  2. 2
    In breakdancing, a kind of airflare move in which the dancer hops from one hand to the other.

Etymology

Etymology 1

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.

Etymology 2

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.

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