critical

UK: /ˈkrɪtɪk^əl/ US: /ˈkrɪtɪkəl/ ,(krit′i kəl)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

crit•i•cal /ˈkrɪtɪkəl/   adj. 

1. inclined to find fault or to judge severely:
   remarks far too critical of the queen.
2. of or relating to critics or criticism:
   [before a noun] a critical edition of Chaucer.
3. very careful;
   involving or requiring skillful judgment as to truth, merit, etc.:
   [before a noun] Critical readers will find much of interest.
4. of decisive importance;
   crucial:
   a critical moment in American politics.
5. of great or necessary importance;
   essential;
   indispensable:
   A critical ingredient in the bomb is the primer that sets off the larger explosive.
6. caused by or constituting a crisis:
   a critical shortage of food.
7. Medicine (of a patient's condition) having unstable and abnormal heartbeat, blood pressure, etc.:
   The gunshot victim is listed in critical condition.

crit•i•cal•ly, adv.: 

The book was critically acclaimed.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

crit•i•cal  (krit′i kəl), adj. 

1. inclined to find fault or to judge with severity, often too readily.
2. occupied with or skilled in criticism.
3. involving skillful judgment as to truth, merit, etc.;
   judicial:
   a critical analysis.
4. of or pertaining to critics or criticism:
   critical essays.
5. providing textual variants, proposed emendations, etc.:
   a critical edition of Chaucer.
6. pertaining to or of the nature of a crisis:
   a critical shortage of food.
7. of decisive importance with respect to the outcome;
   crucial:
   a critical moment.
8. of essential importance;
   indispensable:
   a critical ingredient.
9. Medicine (of a patient's condition) having unstable and abnormal vital signs and other unfavorable indicators, as loss of appetite, poor mobility, or unconsciousness.
10. Physics
    • pertaining to a state, value, or quantity at which one or more properties of a substance or system undergo a change.
    • (of fissionable material) having enough mass to sustain a chain reaction.

• critic + -al¹ 1580–90

crit′i•cal•ly, adv. 
crit′i•cal′i•ty, crit′i•cal•ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. captious, censorious, carping, faultfinding, caviling.
• 3. discriminating, exact, precise.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

critical / ˈkrɪtɪk^əl/ adjective

1. containing or making severe or negative judgments
2. containing careful or analytical evaluations
3. of or involving a critic or criticism
4. of or forming a crisis; crucial; decisive
5. urgently needed
6. so seriously injured or ill as to be in danger of dying
7. of, denoting, or concerned with a state in which the properties of a system undergo an abrupt change
8. go critical ⇒ (of a nuclear power station or reactor) to reach a state in which a nuclear-fission chain reaction becomes self-sustaining

ˈcritically adverb

ˈcriticalness noun