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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary crit·i·cal DATE 1547 1. a. of, relating to, or being a turning point or specially important juncture a critical phase as (1) relating to or being the stage of a disease at which an abrupt change for better or worse may be expected; also : being or relating to an illness or condition involving danger of death critical care a patient listed in critical condition (2) relating to or being a state in which or a measurement or point at which some quality, property, or phenomenon suffers a definite change critical temperature b. crucial , decisive a critical test c. indispensable , vital a critical waterfowl habitat a component critical to the operation of a machine d. being in or approaching a state of crisis a critical shortage a critical situation 2. a. inclined to criticize severely and unfavorably b. consisting of or involving criticism critical writings also : of or relating to the judgment of critics the play was a critical success c. exercising or involving careful judgment or judicious evaluation critical thinking d. including variant readings and scholarly emendations a critical edition 3. a. of sufficient size to sustain a chain reaction — used of a mass of fissionable material a critical mass b. sustaining a nuclear chain reaction the reactor went critical Synonyms. critical , hypercritical , faultfinding , captious , carping , censorious mean inclined to look for and point out faults and defects. critical may also imply an effort to see a thing clearly and truly in order to judge it fairly a critical essay hypercritical suggests a tendency to judge by unreasonably strict standards hypercritical disparagement of other people's work faultfinding implies a querulous or exacting temperament a faultfinding reviewer captious suggests a readiness to detect trivial faults or raise objections on trivial grounds a captious critic carping implies an ill-natured or perverse picking of flaws a carping editorial censorious implies a disposition to be severely critical and condemnatory the censorious tone of the review Synonym: see in addition acute .English Etymology critical 1580s, "censorious," from critic + -al. Meaning "pertaining to criticism" is from 1741; medical sense is from c.1600; meaning "of the nature of a crisis" is from 1640s; that of "crucial" is from 1841. Related: Criticality (1756; in the nuclear sense, 1950); critically(1650s, "accurately;" 1815, "in a critical situation"). In nuclear science, critical mass is attested from 1940. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 ☞ critical crit·ic·al / 5kritikl / adjectiveEXPRESSING DISAPPROVAL 表示不赞成 1. ~ (of sb / sth) expressing disapproval of sb / sth and saying what you think is bad about them 批评的；批判性的；挑剔的: a critical comment / report 批判性的评论/报道 The supervisor is always very critical. 主管总是很挑剔。 Tom's parents were highly critical of the school. 汤姆的父母对学校提出了强烈的批评。 IMPORTANT 重要 2. extremely important because a future situation will be affected by it 极重要的；关键的；至关紧要的 SYN crucial :
a critical factor in the election campaign 竞选活动的关键因素 Reducing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is of critical importance. 减少大气层中的二氧化碳含量极其重要。 Your decision is critical to our future. 你的决定对我们的将来至关重要。 ⇨ note at essential SERIOUS / DANGEROUS 严重；危险 3. serious, uncertain and possibly dangerous 严重的；不稳定的；可能有危险的: The first 24 hours after the operation are the most critical. 病人手术后头 24 小时是最危险的。 a critical moment in our country's history 我国历史上的危急关头 One of the victims of the fire remains in a critical condition. 大火的一位受害者依然病情危急。 ⇨ see also crisis (2) MAKING CAREFUL JUDGEMENTS 判断审慎 4. involving making fair, careful judgements about the good and bad qualities of sb / sth 有判断力的；判断公正(或审慎)的: Students are encouraged to develop critical thinking instead of accepting opinions without questioning them. 要鼓励学生培养判断力,而非不懂提问,只知接收意见。 OF ART / MUSIC / BOOKS, ETC. 艺术、音乐、书等 5. [only before noun] according to the judgement of critics of art, music, literature, etc. 根据(艺术、音乐、文学等)评论家的评论: the film director's greatest critical success 那位电影导演从评论界获得的最大成功 In her day she never received the critical acclaim (= praise from the critics ) she deserved. 她一生从未受到过评论家应当给她的赞扬。 • crit·ic·al·ly / -ikli / adv.: She spoke critically of her father. 她谈到父亲时颇有微词。 He is critically ill in intensive care. 他病得很重,正处于特护之中。 I looked at myself critically in the mirror. 我对着镜子,挑剔地打量着自己。 Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English critical adj. 1 disapproving VERBS be | become | remain ADV. bitterly, deeply, extremely, fiercely, harshly, highly, severely, sharply, strongly, very | increasingly | a little, mildly, quite | openly She became openly critical of party policy. PREP. of The report was highly critical of the railway's poor safety record. 2 important VERBS be | become ADV. really | absolutely | increasingly PREP. for Maintaining control of the the budget is absolutely critical for success. | to This reorganization is critical to the long-term future of the company. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus-11th Edition adj. Function: adjective 1 exhibiting the spirit of one who looks for and points out faults and defects FF1C;constant critical comments about her attireFF1E; Synonyms: captious, carping, caviling, cavillous, censorious, critic, faultfinding, hypercritical, overcritical Related Words: discerning, discriminating, penetrating; finicky, fussy, particular; belittling, demeaning, disparaging, humbling, lowering Contrasted Words: cursory, shallow, superficial; encouraging, flattering, praising Antonyms: uncritical 2 Synonyms: ACUTE 6, climacteric, crucial, desperate, dire Related Words: conclusive, decisive, determinative; consequential, important, momentous, significant, weighty Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged Search result show the entry is found in: self-critical , or text-critical , or critical mass , or critical path , or critical region , or critical angle of attack , or critical fusion frequency , or critical angle , or critical apparatus , or critical coefficient , or critical constant , or critical density , or critical flicker frequency , or critical idealism , or critical philosophy , or critical point , or critical potential , or critical pressure , or critical ratio , or critical realism , or critical realist , or critical size , or critical solution temperature , or critical state , or critical temperature , or critical value , or critical velocity , or critical volumecrit·i·cal \ˈkrid.ə̇kəl, -itə̇k-, -ēk-\ adjective Etymology: critic (I) + -al 1. a. : inclined to criticize severely and unfavorably : given to noticing faults and imperfections < cooler and more critical in temper; hard to please — Willa Cather > b. : consisting of, marked by, being, or involving criticism < the critical writings of Swinburne > < a critical biography > < his critical insight > also : of or in the judgment of critics < the book won wide critical praise > < the play was a critical success > c. : exercising or involving careful judgment or judicious evaluation : discriminating , careful , exact < a critical weighing of all the factors leaves no doubt that the countryman labors under real disadvantages > < a cautious critical mind > d. : including variant readings and scholarly emendations < a critical edition > — compare variorum 2. : of, relating to, or being a turning point or specially important juncture: a. : indicating or being the stage of a disease at which an abrupt change for better or worse may be anticipated with reasonable certainty < the critical phase of a fever > b. : relating to, indicating, or being a state in which or a measurement or point at which some quality, property, or phenomenon suffers a finite change or undergoes drastic alteration < the parabola is a critical curve through which a conic section passes from an ellipse into a hyperbola > c. : crucial , decisive < a critical analogy between sound and light > < this will be the critical test in the series > d. : indispensable for the weathering, the solution, or the overcoming of a crisis; specifically : essential for the conduct of war but available only in short supply < critical materials > e. : in or approaching a crisis especially through economic disorders or by virtue of a disaster < a critical area > 3. a. : of doubtful issue : attended by risk or uncertainty < our situation became critical with the early freeze > b. of kinds of organisms (1) : so nearly related as to be distinguished with difficulty < two critical species > (2) : rare and diminishing in numbers < a critical element in the local flora > 4. : of sufficient size to sustain or to be capable of sustaining a chain reaction — used of a mass of fissionable material Synonyms: hypercritical , censorious , faultfinding , carping , captious , caviling : critical may describe a disposition to find and to stress faults < the attitude of Euripides … is so … frankly critical that a recent writer has even gone so far as to maintain that his main object … was to discredit the myths — G.L.Dickinson > Unlike the other words in this list, critical may describe fair, judicious evaluation < the exemplars of … the critical spirit, discriminators between the false and the true — P.E.More > The other words in the list are all close in suggestion and are often interchangeable. hypercritical and censorious indicate a tendency to discover and stress errors and imperfections < exceedingly difficult to please, not … because he was hypercritical and exacting, but because he was indifferent — Arnold Bennett > < “do you mean that you heard a fellow doubt my wife …?” “The world's very censorious, old boy” — W.M.Thackeray > faultfinding , sometimes implying lack of background and discrimination, describes a temperament that is exacting and almost impossible to satisfy. carping and captious may imply perverse ill-natured faultfinding < these criticisms of a book that is a labor of love may seem ungracious or even carping — M.R.Cohen > < after reading a work of such amplitude it seems captious to protest that the motivating forces … are inadequately analyzed — Geoffrey Bruun > caviling suggests frequent petty objections < those caviling critics who snipe from the musty back rooms of libraries — Charles Ramsdell > Synonym: see in addition acute . |
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