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Webster 1913 Edition

Critical

Crit′ic-al

(krĭt′ĭ-kal)
,
Adj.
[See
Critic
,
Noun.
,
Crisis
.]
1.
Qualified to criticise, or pass judgment upon, literary or artistic productions.
It is submitted to the judgment of more
critical
ears to direct and determine what is graceful and what is not.
Holder.
2.
Pertaining to criticism or the critic’s art; of the nature of a criticism; accurate;
as,
critical
knowledge; a
critical
dissertation
.
3.
Inclined to make nice distinctions, or to exercise careful judgment and selection; exact; nicely judicious.
Virgil was so
critical
in the rites of religion, that he would never have brought in such prayers as these, if they had not been agreeable to the Roman customs.
Bp. Stillingfleet.
4.
Inclined to criticise or find fault; fastidious; captious; censorious; exacting.
O gentle lady, do not put me to 't,
For I am nothing, if not
critical
.
Shakespeare
5.
Characterized by thoroughness and a reference to principles, as becomes a critic;
as, a
critical
analysis of a subject
.
6.
[See
Crisis
.]
Pertaining to, or indicating, a crisis, turning point, or specially important juncture; important as regards consequences; hence, of doubtful issue; attended with risk; dangerous;
as, the
critical
stage of a fever; a
critical
situation
.
Our circumstances are indeed
critical
.
Burke.
The small moment, the exact point, the
critical
minute, on which every good work so much depends.
South.
Critical angle
(Optics)
,
that angle of incidence of a luminous ray at which it is wholly reflected, and no portion of it transmitted. The sine of this angle is the reciprocal of the refractive index of the medium.
–
Critical philosophy
,
the metaphysical system of Kant; – so called from his most important work, the “Critique of Pure Reason.”

Webster 1828 Edition

Critical

CRITICAL

,
Adj.
[L. Gr. See Critic.]
1.
Relating to criticism; nicely exact; as a critical dissertation on Homer.
2.
Having the skill or power nicely to distinguish beauties from blemishes; a a critical judge; a critical auditor; a critical ear; critical taste.
3.
Making nice distinctions; accurate; as critical rules.
4.
Capable of judging with accuracy; discerning beauties and faults; nicely judicious in matters of literature and the fine arts; as, Virgil was a critical poet.
5.
Capable of judging with accuracy; conforming to exact rules of propriety; exact; particular; as, to be critical in rites and ceremonies, or in the selection of books.
6.
Inclined to find fault, or to judge with severity.
7.
[See Crisis.] Pertaining to a crisis; marking the time or state of a disease which indicates its termination in the death or recovery of the patient; as critical days, or critical symptoms.
8.
Producing a crisis or change in a disease; indicating a crisis; as a critical sweat.
9.
Decisive; noting a time or state on which the issue of things depends; important, as regards the consequences; as a critical time or moment; a critical juncture.
10.
Formed or situated to determine or decide, or having the crisis at command; important or essential for determining; as a critical post.

Definition 2024

critical

critical

English

Adjective

critical ‎(comparative more critical, superlative most critical)

  1. Inclined to find fault or criticize; fastidious; captious; censorious; exacting.
    A good teacher is fair but critical.‎
  2. Pertaining to, or indicating, a crisis or turning point.
    This is a critical moment.‎
    • 1893, Walter Besant, The Ivory Gate, Prologue:
      Such a scandal as the prosecution of a brother for forgery—with a verdict of guilty—is a most truly horrible, deplorable, fatal thing. It takes the respectability out of a family perhaps at a critical moment, when the family is just assuming the robes of respectability: […] it is a black spot which all the soaps ever advertised could never wash off.
  3. Extremely important.
    It's critical that you deliver this on time.‎
    • 2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist:
      Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: […] . The evolutionary precursor of photosynthesis is still under debate, and a new study sheds light. The critical component of the photosynthetic system is the “water-oxidizing complex”, made up of manganese atoms and a calcium atom.
  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. (medicine) 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.‎
  6. 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.‎
  7. Of the point (in temperature, reagent concentration etc.) where a nuclear or chemical reaction becomes self-sustaining.
    The reaction was about to become critical.‎

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

Noun

critical ‎(plural criticals)

  1. A critical value, factor, etc.
    • 1976, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Journal of engineering for industry (volume 98, page 508)
      The second undamped system criticals show a greater percentage depression than the first.
    • 2008, John J. Coyle, C. John Langley, Brian Gibson, Supply Chain Management: A Logistics Perspective (page 564)
      Finally, criticals are high-risk, high-value items that give the final product a competitive advantage in the marketplace […] Criticals, in part, determine the customer's ultimate cost of using the finished product — in our example, the computer.
  2. In breakdancing, a kind of airflare move in which the dancer hops from one hand to the other.

Etymology

From the suffix -al and Latin criticus, from Ancient Greek κριτικός ‎(kritikós, “of or for judging, able to discern”) < κρίνω ‎(krínō, “I separate, judge”), also the root of crisis).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkrɪtɪkəl/

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