critical
/ˈkrɪtɪk(ə)l
/adjective
1Expressing adverse or disapproving comments or judgements: I was very critical of the previous regime...
- The report is also critical of road safety education because of its lack of prominence, vagueness and poor training for teachers.
- Children with low self-esteem tend to be overly critical of and easily disappointed in themselves.
- Inman is highly critical of industry sponsored safety studies, which he regards as marketing exercises.
Synonyms
censorious, condemnatory, condemning, castigatory, reproving, denunciatory, deprecatory, disparaging, disapproving, scathing, criticizing, fault-finding, judgemental, negative, unfavourable, unsympathetic;
hypercritical, ultra-critical, overcritical, pedantic, pettifogging, cavilling, carping, quibbling, niggling;
Scottish & Irish pass-remarkable
informal nitpicking, hair-splitting, pernickety, picky, griping, bitching, bellyaching, whingeing
rare reprobatory, reprobative
2Expressing or involving an analysis of the merits and faults of a work of literature, music, or art: she never won the critical acclaim she sought...
- Set up a year ago by Martin Wheeler, 33, Iwari and its artists have sparked critical acclaim in the music press.
- His recent CD recording of Liszt's piano music received critical acclaim.
- It was released in July 2001 to critical acclaim.
Synonyms
evaluative, analytic, analytical, interpretative, expository, commentative, explanatory, explicative, elucidative
2.1(Of a text) incorporating a detailed and scholarly analysis and commentary: a critical edition of a Bach sonata...
- Translations of major texts are borrowed from current scholarly editions, while English texts are based on critical editions.
- Since Q2 represents the text closest to the author's manuscript it might be chosen as the copy text for a critical edition.
- Entire pages of these two critical texts are presented in her book, bilingual explanations on the left-hand side, graphic images on the right.
2.2Involving the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgement: professors often find it difficult to encourage critical thinking amongst their students...
- Gavin sits on a Masters Degree Visual Arts Practises course with me where we have seen critical judgment voided by curatorial organisational skills.
- The book is divided into two parts: a 35-page critical essay followed by drawings grouped according to theme.
- The investigations, however, were not only celebratory; various critical examinations of the institution of cinema also emerged.
3(Of a situation or problem) having the potential to become disastrous; at a point of crisis: the floodwaters had not receded and the situation was still critical...
- We have a potentially critical situation here.
- It puts us in a difficult and critical situation.
- None of these problems is critical, but they all act to inhibit the process of renewing Australia's economic infrastructure.
Synonyms
grave, serious, dangerous, risky, perilous, hazardous, precarious, touch-and-go, in the balance, uncertain, desperate, dire, acute, very bad;
life-and-death, life-threatening
informal chancy, dicey, hairy, iffy
British informal dodgy
archaic or humorous parlous
Medicine peracute, profound
rare egregious
3.1Extremely ill and at risk of death: she was critical but stable in Middlesbrough General Hospital...
- Following the accident, he was rushed to hospital in critical condition with a severe head injury and underwent brain surgery the very next day.
- As of Wednesday afternoon at least two workers remained in critical condition from severe burns and six others were listed in serious condition.
- It said nine of those injured were in critical condition, suggesting that the death toll might rise.
3.2Having a decisive or crucial importance in the success, failure, or existence of something: temperature is a critical factor in successful fruit storage getting banks lending again was critical to any recovery [in combination]: time-critical tasks...
- But do they represent a critical factor in the success or failure of a business?
- This gives them the right to take decisions of critical importance, having gained two thirds of the stake in the holding.
- This completely fails to recognise the critical importance that success in business has in funding our aspirations for the public services.
Synonyms
crucial, vital, essential, of the essence, all-important, important, of the utmost importance, of great consequence, high-priority, paramount, pre-eminent, fundamental, key, pivotal, deciding, decisive, climacteric, momentous;
serious, urgent, pressing, compelling, exigent
4 Mathematics & Physics Relating to or denoting a point of transition from one state to another: if the density is less than a certain critical value the gravitational attraction will be too weak to halt the expansion...
- When the fraction is close to the critical value, computation times become very large.
- On the other hand, if the frequency exceeded a certain critical value, there would be enough energy for the electron to be able to get away.
- Similarly, superconductivity can be destroyed by applying a magnetic field that exceeds some critical value.
5(Of a nuclear reactor or fuel) maintaining a self-sustaining chain reaction: the reactor is due to go critical in October
Derivatives
criticality
/ nounsense 3, sense 4. ...- To make an analogy; in any situation, if criticality in stability is seen, the unstable mass must be contained and/or isolated, in order to minimise any possible ensuing collateral damage.
- The authors have developed a matrix on which a company can plot its functions on the X-axis according to their criticality and its capabilities on the Y-axis.
- On their part, the employees understood the criticality of the situation.
criticalness
- The issue of distortion or bias in social cognition is difficult to address with the present data, as the ratings of attentiveness, criticalness, and admiration are inherently subjective.
- You should not let your father's or mother's negativity, depression and criticalness be contagious.
- This anchoring reinforced that the criticalness was about Susan, not her.
Origin
Mid 16th century (in the sense 'relating to the crisis of a disease'): from late Latin criticus (see critic).