A critical time, factor, or situation is extremely important.
The incident happened at a critical point in the campaign.
Environmentalists say a critical factor in the city's pollution is its population.
He says setting priorities is of critical importance.
How you finance a business is critical to the success of your venture.
Synonyms: crucial, decisive, momentous, deciding More Synonyms of critical
critically (krɪtɪkli)adverb [ADVERB with verb, ADVERB adjective]
Economic prosperity depends critically on an open world trading system.
It was a critically important moment in his career.
2. adjective
A critical situation is very serious and dangerous.
The authorities are considering an airlift if the situation becomes critical.
Its day-to-day finances are in a critical state.
criticallyadverb [usually ADVERB adjective]
Moscow is running critically low on food supplies.
3. adjective
If a person is critical or in a critical condition in hospital, they are seriously ill.
Ten of the injured are said to be in critical condition.
Synonyms: grave, serious, dangerous, acute More Synonyms of critical
criticallyadverb [usually ADVERB adjective, oft ADVERB with verb]
She was critically ill.
A youth was killed and another critically injured.
4. adjective
To be criticalof someone or something means to criticize them.
His report is highly critical of the trial judge. [+ of]
...a few dozen intellectuals who've been critical of the regime.
He has apologised for critical remarks he made about the referee.
Synonyms: disparaging, disapproving, scathing, derogatory More Synonyms of critical
criticallyadverb
She spoke critically of Lara. [+ of]
5. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
A critical approach to something involves examining and judging it carefully.
We need to become critical text-readers.
Marx's work was more than a critical study of capitalist production.
...the critical analysis of political ideas.
criticallyadverb
Wyman watched them critically.
6. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
If something or someone receives critical acclaim, critics say that they are very good.
The film met with considerable critical and public acclaim.
The show was also a resounding critical success.
More Synonyms of critical
critical in British English
(ˈkrɪtɪkəl)
adjective
1.
containing or making severe or negative judgments
2.
containing careful or analytical evaluations
a critical dissertation
3.
of or involving a critic or criticism
4.
of or forming a crisis; crucial; decisive
a critical operation
5.
urgently needed
critical medical supplies
6. informal
so seriously injured or ill as to be in danger of dying
7. physics
of, denoting, or concerned with a state in which the properties of a system undergo an abrupt change
a critical temperature
8. go critical
Derived forms
critically (ˈcritically)
adverb
criticalness (ˈcriticalness)
noun
critical in American English
(ˈkrɪtɪkəl)
adjective
1.
tending to find fault; censorious
2.
characterized by careful analysis and judgment
a sound critical estimate of the problem
3.
of critics or criticism
4.
of or forming a crisis or turning point; decisive
5.
dangerous or risky; causing anxiety
a critical situation in international relations
6.
of the crisis of a disease
7.
designating or of important products or raw materials subject to increased production and restricted distribution under strict control, as in wartime
8.
a.
designating or of a point at which a change in character, property, or condition is effected
b.
designating or of the point at which a nuclear chain reaction becomes self-sustaining
SIMILAR WORDS: aˈcute
SYNONYMY NOTE: critical, in its strictest use, implies an attempt at objective judging so as to determineboth merits and faults [a critical review], but it often (and hypercritical, always) connotes emphasis on the faults or shortcomings; , faultfinding implies a habitual or unreasonable emphasis on faults or defects; , captious suggests a characteristic tendency to find fault with, or argue about, even the pettiestdetails [a captious critic]; cavil verb intransitive stresses the raising of quibbling objections on the most trivial points [a caviling grammarian]; carping suggests peevishness, perversity, or censoriousness in seeking out faults
Derived forms
critically (ˈcritically)
adverb
criticality (ˌcritiˈcality) (ˈkrɪtɪˈkæləti)
noun or ˈcriticalness
More idioms containing
critical
go critical
Examples of 'critical' in a sentence
critical
His recordings enjoyed wide critical acclaim and he was held in high regard by his fellow musicians.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Such success is critical in a world where energy demand continues to soar.
The Sun (2010)
The operation is reaching a critical point.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Where you sleep in between your climbing endeavours is of critical importance.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
It is a highly monitored and critical and testing environment.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The critical mass was also evident in the thunderous singing.
Christianity Today (2000)
It was fight and hunger to win that saw us take the critical moments.
The Sun (2013)
They seized upon management as the central force and the critical factor.
Peter F. Drucker MANAGEMENT: task, responsibilities, practices (1974)
All five judges were critical of this conduct.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Only when the situation is critical do they seek help.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
This was another feature of industrial capitalism that led him to be extremely critical of it.
Sanderson, Stephen K. Macrosociology: An Introduction to Human Societies (1995)
Two adults were in a critical condition.
The Sun (2012)
He has also sold more than a billion records around the world to mass critical acclaim.
The Sun (2009)
It is innovative and a rare critical success for the channel.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The critical point was the particular vulnerability of the individuals.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
This is of critical importance in identifying training needs.
Torrington, Derek Personnel Management: A New Approach (1991)
In fact many of them are highly critical of the country.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Such information has also made critical contributions to medical research.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
It was a critical gesture at a critical moment.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The critical factor was the fact that the first defendant was employed by the club.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Employment and job situation are critical factors in this.
Forrest, Ray & Murie, Alan & Williams, Peter Home-ownership - differentiation and fragmentation (1990)
Three other survivors were said to be in a critical condition.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
In many cases the critical technologies and systems already exist but have yet to be deployed on the necessary scale.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
In other languages
critical
British English: critical /ˈkrɪtɪkl/ ADJECTIVE
A critical time or situation is extremely important.
He fell ill at a critical point in the campaign.
American English: critical
Arabic: اِنْتِقادِيّ
Brazilian Portuguese: crítico
Chinese: 危急的
Croatian: kritičan
Czech: kritický
Danish: kritisk
Dutch: kritiek
European Spanish: crítico
Finnish: kriittinen
French: critique
German: kritisch
Greek: κρίσιμος
Italian: critico
Japanese: 重大な
Korean: 중대한
Norwegian: kritisk
Polish: krytyczny
European Portuguese: crítico
Romanian: critic
Russian: критический
Latin American Spanish: crítico relativo a la crisis
Swedish: kritisk
Thai: เกี่ยวกับการวิจารณ์
Turkish: kritik
Ukrainian: критичний
Vietnamese: then chốt
All related terms of 'critical'
go critical
to reach a stage of development where a project or organization can operate smoothly and successfully
critical mass
In physics , the critical mass of a substance is the minimum amount of it that is needed for a nuclear chain reaction.
critical path
the sequence of stages of a project requiring the longest time
critical role
If you have a role in a situation or in society, you have a particular position and function in it.
self-critical
critical of oneself
critical angle
the smallest possible angle of incidence for which light rays are totally reflected at an interface between substances of different refractive index
critical issue
An issue is an important subject that people are arguing about or discussing .
critical period
a period in a lifetime during which a specific stage of development usually occurs. If it fails to do so, it cannot readily occur afterwards
critical phase
A phase is a particular stage in a process or in the gradual development of something.
critical point
the point on a phase diagram that represents the critical state of a substance
critical region
that part of a statistical distribution in which the probability of a given hypothesis is less than the chosen significance level, so that the hypothesis would be rejected
critical speed
Critical speed is the speed at which unwanted vibration happens when a vessel is rotating .
critical state
the state of a substance in which two of its phases have the same temperature , pressure, and volume
critical volume
the volume occupied by one mole or unit mass of a substance in its critical state
critical apparatus
the variant readings , footnotes , etc found in a scholarly work or a critical edition of a text
critical component
The components of something are the parts that it is made of.
critical constants
the physical constants that express the properties of a substance in its critical state
critical damping
the minimum amount of viscous damping that results in a displaced system returning to its original position without oscillation
critical density
the density of matter that would be required to halt the expansion of the universe
critical element
The different elements of something are the different parts it contains.
critical judgment
A judgment is an opinion that you have or express after thinking carefully about something.
critical pressure
the pressure of a gas or the saturated vapour pressure of a substance in its critical state
critical question
A question is a problem , matter, or point which needs to be considered.
critical shortage
If there is a shortage of something, there is not enough of it.
mission-critical
essential for the success of an operation
critical temperature
the temperature of a substance in its critical state. A gas can only be liquefied by pressure alone at temperatures below its critical temperature
critical infrastructure
The infrastructure of a country, society, or organization consists of the basic facilities such as transport , communications , power supplies, and buildings, which enable it to function.
critical path method
a technique for planning complex projects by analysing alternative systems with reference to the critical path , which is the sequence of stages requiring the longest time
critical path analysis
a technique for planning complex projects by analysing alternative systems with reference to the critical path , which is the sequence of stages requiring the longest time
critical illness insurance
Critical illness insurance is an insurance policy which pays out if the policyholder is diagnosed with a serious medical condition, such as a stroke , cancer , or heart disease.
stall angle
the angle between the chord line of an aerofoil and the undisturbed relative airflow at which stalling occurs
stalling angle
the angle between the chord line of an aerofoil and the undisturbed relative airflow at which stalling occurs
new criticism
an approach to literary criticism through close analysis of the text
form criticism
literary criticism concerned esp with analysing the Bible in terms of the literary forms used, such as proverbs , songs, or stories, and relating them to their historical forms and background