The meaning of CRITICAL is inclined to criticize severely and unfavorably. How to use critical in a sentence. Synonym Discussion of Critical.

CRITICAL meaning: 1 : expressing criticism or disapproval; 2 : of or relating to the judgments of critics about books, movies, art, etc.

CRITICAL definition: 1. saying that someone or something is bad or wrong: 2. giving or relating to opinions or…. Learn more.

If a person is critical or in a critical condition in hospital, they are seriously ill. Ten of the injured are said to be in critical condition.

If you are critical of someone or something, you show that you disapprove of them. When critical has this meaning, it can be used in front of a noun or after a linking verb.

• Stan is at a critical stage in his recovery from the accident. • The density of the landfall was critical to calculating at what moment the dam would capitulate. • The policies which are …

inclined to find fault or to judge severely: remarks far too critical of the queen. of or relating to critics or criticism:[before a noun] a critical edition of Chaucer.

Oct 8, 2025 · (physics) Of a temperature that is equal to the temperature of the critical point of a substance, i.e. the temperature above which the substance cannot be liquefied.

There are 16 meanings listed in OED's entry for the word critical, one of which is labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

Find 5,492 synonyms for critical and other similar words that you can use instead based on 20 separate contexts from our thesaurus.