- critical
- crit|i|calW2S2 [ˈkrıtıkəl] adj▬▬▬▬▬▬▬1¦(criticizing)¦2¦(important)¦3¦(serious/worrying)¦4¦(ill)¦5 the critical list6¦(making judgments)¦7¦(art/literature)¦▬▬▬▬▬▬▬1.) ¦(CRITICIZING)¦if you are critical, you criticize someone or somethingcritical of▪ Many economists are critical of the government's economic policies.▪ Many parents are strongly critical of the school.▪ He made some highly critical remarks.2.) ¦(IMPORTANT)¦something that is critical is very important because what happens in the future depends on it= ↑crucial critical to▪ These talks are critical to the future of the peace process.▪ It is absolutely critical for us to know the truth.▪ Foreign trade is of critical importance to the economy.3.) ¦(SERIOUS/WORRYING)¦a critical time or situation is serious and worrying because things might suddenly become much worse▪ The fighting has stopped, but the situation is still critical.▪ changes that took place during the critical period at the end of the war4.) ¦(ILL)¦so ill that you might die▪ He is still in a critical condition in hospital.▪ She is in intensive care, where she remains critical but stable.5.) the critical lista) the list of patients in a hospital who are so ill that they might dieon the critical list▪ Two of the victims were still on the critical list Sunday night.take sb off the critical list▪ He was taken off the critical list and is now in a stable condition.b) if a system, plan, company etc is on the critical list, it is having severe problems and might fail soon6.) ¦(MAKING JUDGMENTS)¦making careful judgments about how good or bad something is▪ His book provides a critical analysis of the television industry in Britain.▪ She looked round the room with a critical eye .7.) ¦(ART/LITERATURE)¦according to critics who give judgments about art, films, theatre, and books▪ The book came out last year to great critical acclaim (=critics said it was very good) .▪ Her first play was a critical success (=critics said it was good) .
Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.