CRITICAL • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Critical

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/krˈɪtɪkəl/ Listen

adjective

Critical adj.

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."

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."

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."

5.

Characterized by thoroughness and a reference to principles, as becomes a critic; as, a critical analysis of a subject.

6.

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." "The small moment, the exact point, the critical minute, on which every good work so much depends."

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."

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Etymology of 'Critical'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Critical" Quotes from Famous Books

... had taken post still farther to the left, behind a copse. As the right of the French attacked the English left, he sallied from this position, upon their flanks, and threw them into disorder. In this critical moment, Townshend advanced several platoons against their front, and completely frustrated the attempt ...

— The Life of George Washington, Vol. 1 (of 5) • John Marshall

... not in the least ashamed. She knew that it possessed a certain charm of aspect, from the fanlight over the entrance door to the big quaint kitchen with its uneven floor dark with time. It was when one came to details that the charm sordidly vanished—at least to the critical vision of the young housewife. Like the worn white paint upon its exterior, the walls and floors within called loudly for a restoring hand. As for the furnishings, Georgiana looked about her with an appraising eye which took ...

— Under the Country Sky • Grace S. Richmond

... himself on entering the room, and what was still more noteworthy, was fond of talking a great deal and with heat—and, in Father Fyodor's opinion, much talking was unseemly in children and pernicious to them; moreover Petrushka had taken up a contemptuous and critical attitude to fishing, a pursuit to which both his Reverence and the deacon were greatly addicted. As a student Pyotr had not gone to church at all, had slept till midday, had looked down on people, and had been given to raising delicate and insoluble questions with ...

— The Bishop and Other Stories • Anton Chekhov

... "To the critical mind," replied the doctor calmly, and he automatically adjusted his glasses closer to his eyes, "nothing ...

— The Night Horseman • Max Brand

... miles of the city, we advanced more cautiously. There was good reason for this, for our condition was critical. There we were, only a remnant of a regiment, many miles away from any support, with no way to retreat, as we had burned all the bridges and ferries in our rear, nearer to the Confederate capital than ever any Union troops were before, and ignorant of the forces that ...

— Three Years in the Federal Cavalry • Willard Glazier

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