# critical

Pronunciation: say "KRIT-i-kuhl" /ˈkɹɪt.ɪ.kəl/

## Adjective

1. Extremely important, especially to the success or outcome of something.
   - Simple: Extremely important, especially for how something turns out or whether it succeeds.
   - _Securing funding at this stage is critical to the project's survival._
   - _The next few hours are critical for the rescue effort._
2. Relating to the careful analysis and judgment of works such as literature or film.
   - Simple: Relating to judging the good and bad points of books, movies, or art.
   - _The film earned critical acclaim at festivals around the world._
   - _Critical essays on the novel fill several thick volumes._
3. Tending to find fault or to judge people and things harshly.
   - Simple: Quick to point out what is wrong with someone or something.
   - _He grew increasingly critical of his colleagues' work._
   - _A critical parent can make a child anxious about every small task._
4. Marked by careful, balanced assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of something, grounded in reasoning and evidence.
   - Simple: Judging the good and bad points of something carefully and fairly, using reasons and facts.
   - _The course teaches critical thinking by having students weigh opposing arguments._
   - _Historians must bring a critical approach to every source, including the ones they agree with._
5. Of a patient: so seriously ill or injured, with unstable vital signs, that they may die without urgent care.
   - Simple: Very ill or badly hurt, and in danger of dying.
   - _Her condition was upgraded from critical to stable overnight._
   - _The burns left him in critical condition for weeks._
6. Relating to or marking a crisis or decisive turning point.
   - Simple: Marking a moment when things could change in a big way.
   - _The negotiations entered a critical phase last week._
   - _This is a critical juncture in the country's history._
8. Likely to become uncontrollable if disturbed; the opposite of stable.
   - Simple: Easy to push out of control if something disturbs it.
7. Relating to or at the point, such as a particular temperature, pressure, or mass, at which a sudden change happens, for example a nuclear reaction becoming self-sustaining.
   - Simple: At the exact point where something suddenly changes, for example where a nuclear reaction keeps going by itself.
   - _The reactor became critical once neutron production balanced the losses._
   - _Engineers carefully monitor the moment the core goes critical._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A key value or item: in engineering, a speed or other threshold at which behavior changes sharply; in supply chains, a high-risk, high-value item.
- (adjective) So similar to related forms that great care is needed to classify it correctly; easily confused.
- (noun) A breakdancing airflare variation in which the dancer hops from one hand to the other.

## Origin

Latin criticus with the suffix -al. Behind the Latin is Ancient Greek kritikós ('of or for judging, able to discern'), built on krínō ('I separate, judge'), the same root that gives 'crisis'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/critical (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).