Critical (adjective)
Inclined to find fault or criticize
“fastidious|captious|censorious|exacting”
“A good teacher is fair but critical.”
Critical (adjective)
Pertaining to, or indicating, a crisis or turning point.
“This is a critical moment.”
Critical (adjective)
Extremely important.
“It’s critical that you deliver this on time.”
Critical (adjective)
Relating to criticism or careful analysis, such as literary or film criticism.
“The movie was a critical success, but bombed at the box-office.”
Critical (adjective)
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.”
Critical (adjective)
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.”
Critical (adjective)
Of the point (in nuclear or chemical reaction becomes self-sustaining.
“The reaction was about to become critical.”
Critical (adjective)
(physics) Of a temperature that is equal to the temperature of the liquefied.
Critical (noun)
A critical value, factor, etc.
Critical (noun)
In breakdancing, a kind of airflare move in which the dancer hops from one hand to the other.
Crucial (adjective)
Essential or decisive for determining the outcome or future of something; extremely important.
“Thesaurus:important”
“The battle of Tali-Ihantala in 1944 is one of the crucial moments in the history of Finland.”
“A secure supply of crude oil is crucial for any modern nation, let alone a superpower.”
Crucial (adjective)
Cruciform or cruciate; cross-shaped.
Crucial (adjective)
Very good; excellent; particularly applied to reggae music.
“Delbert Wilkins is the most crucial pirate radio DJ in Brixton.”
Critical (adjective)
expressing adverse or disapproving comments or judgements
“I was very critical of the previous regime”
Critical (adjective)
expressing 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”
Critical (adjective)
(of a text) incorporating a detailed and scholarly analysis and commentary
“a critical edition of a Bach sonata”
Critical (adjective)
involving 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”
Critical (adjective)
(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”
Critical (adjective)
extremely ill and at risk of death
“she was critical but stable in Middlesbrough General Hospital”
Critical (adjective)
having a decisive or crucial importance in the success, failure, or existence of something
“getting banks lending again was critical to any recovery”
“time-critical tasks”
“temperature is a critical factor in successful fruit storage”
Critical (adjective)
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”
Critical (adjective)
(of a nuclear reactor or fuel) maintaining a self-sustaining chain reaction
“the reactor is due to go critical in October”