critical
At a crossroads
Critical centers on careful judgment and evaluation.
A critical analysis examines something closely to assess its merits and flaws.
A critic offers such assessments, so critical can mean disapproving or fault-finding: She was critical of his work habits.
Critical also means essential or decisive: a critical moment, critical infrastructure, This next step is critical.
In medicine, a critical condition is precarious—the patient may not survive.
A critical mass is the minimum amount needed to sustain a reaction, literal or figurative.
Fundamentally necessary
- vitalEssential or sustaining existence
- indispensableUtterly required, irreplaceable
- imperativeUnavoidably necessary
- fundamentalForming the base
necessary · paramount · key · central · pivotal · decisive · urgent · pressing
Methodical study of parts
- evaluationDetermining worth or quality
- scrutinyClose, careful examination
- examinationMethodical assessment or review
- assessmentFormal evaluation of worth
reasoning · interpretation · appraisal · diagnosis · judgment · discernment · insight · review
State or stipulation
- careAttentive regard for others
- intensiveConcentrated and thorough
- life-threateningRisking death
- unstableProne to sudden change
triage · ICU · trauma · stabilize · prognosis · deteriorating · monitoring · acute
Unpleasantly severe or rough
- disapprovingExpressing unfavorable opinion
- judgmentalInclined to criticize others
- censoriousSeverely critical in judgment
- faultfindingSeeking out imperfections
nitpicking · carping · scathing · disparaging · condemnatory · reproachful · censure · denunciation
Quantity of matter
- pointExact location or meaning
- temperatureMeasured heat intensity
- pressureForce upon contact
- junctureCritical point of decision
threshold · flashpoint · inflection · crossroads · singularity · bifurcation · nuclear · meltdown
essential
Fundamentally necessary
- vitalEssential or sustaining existence
- indispensableUtterly required, irreplaceable
- imperativeUnavoidably necessary
fundamental · necessary · paramount · key · central · pivotal · decisive · urgent · pressing · important
analysis
Methodical study of parts
- evaluationDetermining worth or quality
- scrutinyClose, careful examination
- examinationMethodical assessment or review
assessment · reasoning · interpretation · appraisal · diagnosis · judgment · discernment · insight · review · dissection
condition
State or stipulation
- careAttentive regard for others
- intensiveConcentrated and thorough
- life-threateningRisking death
unstable · triage · ICU · trauma · stabilize · prognosis · deteriorating · monitoring · acute · serious
harsh
Unpleasantly severe or rough
- disapprovingExpressing unfavorable opinion
- judgmentalInclined to criticize others
- censoriousSeverely critical in judgment
faultfinding · nitpicking · carping · scathing · disparaging · condemnatory · reproachful · censure · denunciation · rebuke
mass
Quantity of matter
- pointExact location or meaning
- temperatureMeasured heat intensity
- pressureForce upon contact
juncture · threshold · flashpoint · inflection · crossroads · singularity · bifurcation · nuclear · meltdown
- importanceimportance, significance, consequence, weight, gravity
- negative tonesangry, bitter, cynical, hostile, resentful
- ranking systemstop secret, secret, confidential, unclassified, restricted
- speaking stylesarticulate, blunt, candid, conversational, casual
- urgencyurgent, urgently, emergency, ASAP, stat
- prioritypriority, top priority, high priority, low-priority, first priority
criticalcomplimentary
Free or expressing praise
praising · laudatory · flattering · appreciative · approving
criticaltrivial
Lacking significance or weight
unimportant · insignificant · inconsequential · nonessential · minor
criticalstable
Secure and unchanging
recovering · improving · out of danger · fair · good
- theater criticEvaluator of stage productions
- critically endangeredAt extinction's edge
- critical conditionSeverely ill, unstable medically
- critical thinkingObjective evaluation of information
- movie criticsProfessional cinema evaluators
- film criticsProfessional movie evaluators
criticism, critic, criticize, critics, critically, critical apparatus, critical race theory, critical section, criticized