- as in severely
- as in unfavorably

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- desperately
- precariously
- dangerously
- with an iron hand
- conflictingly
- disparagingly
- unflatteringly
antonyms for critically
- compassionately
- approvingly
How to use critically in a sentence
Words related to critically, .css-lmff85{color:#00248b;cursor:pointer;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:inherit;} dangerously.
- hazardously
unfavorably
Synonyms of critical
- as in particular
- as in urgent
- as in crucial
- as in essential
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Thesaurus Definition of critical
Synonyms & Similar Words
- hypercritical
- overcritical
- faultfinding
- discriminating
- unforgiving
- uncharitable
- pettifogging
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- undiscriminating
- undemanding
- importunate
- necessitous
- life - or - death
- life - and - death
- noncritical
- unimportant
- nonthreatening
- low - pressure
- fundamental
- indispensable
- instrumental
- insignificant
- inconsequential
- all - important
- must - have
- prerequisite
- of the essence
- significant
- substantial
- consequential
- nonelective
- unnecessary
- nonessential
- dispensable
- inessential
- unessential
- superfluous
Synonym Chooser
How does the adjective critical contrast with its synonyms?
Some common synonyms of critical are captious , carping , censorious , faultfinding , and hypercritical . While all these words 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.
When might captious be a better fit than critical ?
While the synonyms captious and critical are close in meaning, captious suggests a readiness to detect trivial faults or raise objections on trivial grounds.
Where would carping be a reasonable alternative to critical ?
The synonyms carping and critical are sometimes interchangeable, but carping implies an ill-natured or perverse picking of flaws.
When could censorious be used to replace critical ?
The words censorious and critical can be used in similar contexts, but censorious implies a disposition to be severely critical and condemnatory.
When can faultfinding be used instead of critical ?
Although the words faultfinding and critical have much in common, faultfinding implies a querulous or exacting temperament.
When is it sensible to use hypercritical instead of critical ?
The words hypercritical and critical are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, hypercritical suggests a tendency to judge by unreasonably strict standards.
Articles Related to critical

Everyone's a Critic
8 obscure words for those who pass judgment

9 Ways to Criticize
Words for calling someone out
Thesaurus Entries Near critical
Cite this entry.
“Critical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/critical. Accessed 9 Mar. 2023.
More from Merriam-Webster on critical
Nglish: Translation of critical for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of critical for Arabic Speakers
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Synonyms for critical
- psychological
- all-important
- high-priority
- now or never
- unimportant
- disparaging
- disapproving
- nit-picking
- fault-finding
- complimentary
- appreciative
- penetrating
- discriminating
- undiscriminating
inclined to judge too severely
- faultfinding
- hypercritical
- overcritical
characterized by careful and exact evaluation
So serious as to be at the point of crisis or necessary to resolve a crisis.
- climacteric

marked by a tendency to find and call attention to errors and flaws
Related words.
- unfavorable
- unfavourable
at or of a point at which a property or phenomenon suffers an abrupt change especially having enough mass to sustain a chain reaction
- chemical science
- natural philosophy
- noncritical
characterized by careful evaluation and judgment
Urgently needed.
- indispensable
forming or having the nature of a turning point or crisis
Being in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency.
- crisis intervention
- crisphead lettuce
- crisscrossed
- Cristobal Balenciaga
- Cristobal Colon
- cristobalite
- Cristoforo Colombo
- criterional
- critical analysis
- critical angle
- critical appraisal
- critical mass
- critical point
- critical review
- criticality
- criticalness
- critter sitter
- Crithidia luciliae
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- Crithomancy
- Critial thinking
- Critic of the Mormon Church
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- Critical Access Hospital
- Critical Access Hospital Network
- Critical Accident Response Team
- Critical Acquisition Position
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- Critical Acquisition Process
- Critical Action Time
- Critical Aeronautical Material/Equipment List
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1. critical
Rhymes with critical.
- Pronounce Critical
How do you spell critical? Is it critcal ?
- Critical in a sentence
- Quotes about Critical
2. critical
3. critical, 4. critical, 5. critical, 6. critical.
adjective. ['ˈkrɪtɪkəl'] marked by a tendency to find and call attention to errors and flaws.
- hypercritical
- unfavourable
- overcritical
- vituperative
- faultfinding
- unfavorable
- deprecative
- unsarcastic
- nonpolitical
- geopolitical
How do you pronounce critical?
Pronounce critical as ˈkrɪtɪkəl.
US - How to pronounce critical in American English
UK - How to pronounce critical in British English
A common misspelling of critical is critcal
Sentences with critical
1. Adjective The review found that the critical difference was the age of the women attending these studies.
Quotes about critical
1. Art is a critical component in a well-rounded education. Art is the level playing field - no matter how rich or poor, tall or short, pretty or ugly to the bone, if you can draw, you can find personal fulfillment and build self-confidence. Art is the highest achievement of mankind. - Lynda Resnick 2. Challenge is the pathway to engagement and progress in our lives. But not all challenges are created equal. Some challenges make us feel alive, engaged, connected, and fulfilled. Others simply overwhelm us. Knowing the difference as you set bigger and bolder challenges for yourself is critical to your sanity, success, and satisfaction. - Brendon Burchard 3. To many, peace is what enables development and is critical in providing opportunities to young people. To some - especially those from regions involved in conflict - peacekeeping and efforts to preserve peace are absolutely vital in bringing prosperity and hope for the future. - Kim Yuna
adjective. ['ˈkrɪtɪkəl'] characterized by careful evaluation and judgment.
- discriminative
- undiscerning
- complimentary
- affirmative
adjective. ['ˈkrɪtɪkəl'] at or of a point at which a property or phenomenon suffers an abrupt change especially having enough mass to sustain a chain reaction.
- supercritical
- unimportant
adjective. ['ˈkrɪtɪkəl'] urgently needed; absolutely necessary.
adjective. ['ˈkrɪtɪkəl'] forming or having the nature of a turning point or crisis.
- inessential
adjective. ['ˈkrɪtɪkəl'] being in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency.
- life-threatening
- nonjudgmental

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Critical Synonyms and Antonyms
- faultfinding
- hypercritical
- disapproving
- inclined to judge with severity
- calumniatory
- hairsplitting
- climacteric
- reproachful
- disparaging
- discriminating
- overcritical
- euhemeristic
- significant
- judgemental
- monographic
- scholiastic
- encouraging
- complimentary
- penetrating
- interpretive
- commentatorial
- discoursive
- dissertational
- noncritical
- unimportant
- indispensable
Words Related to Critical
Related words are words that are directly connected to each other through their meaning, even if they are not synonyms or antonyms. This connection may be general or specific, or the words may appear frequently together.
- explanatory
- critical-point
- fundamental
- theoretical
- qualitative
- methodological
Critical Sentence Examples
At least he didn't look so critical now.
I didn't expect the critical infrastructure to disintegrate so fast.
Her critical gaze swept over him with a frown.
But he's not in critical condition?
He raised a critical eyebrow at the end of his inspection.
Related Articles

Words near Critical in the Thesaurus
- Cristobal Colon
- Cristoforo Colombo
- critical infrastructures
- critical mass
- critical review
- criticality

critical - adjective
Saying when something is wrong, very important, difficult because small mistake could be serious, very seriously sick or injured, according to critics, carefully considering and judging something, topics for “critical”, explore more.

Online Language Dictionaries
1. critical
2. critical, 3. critical, 4. critical, 5. critical, 6. critical.
adjective. ['ˈkrɪtɪkəl'] marked by a tendency to find and call attention to errors and flaws.
- unsarcastic
- complimentary
- affirmative
- hypercritical
- unfavourable
adjective. ['ˈkrɪtɪkəl'] characterized by careful evaluation and judgment.
- unscholarly
- undiscerning
- nonjudgmental
- unimportant
- discriminative
adjective. ['ˈkrɪtɪkəl'] at or of a point at which a property or phenomenon suffers an abrupt change especially having enough mass to sustain a chain reaction.
- noncritical
- criticality
adjective. ['ˈkrɪtɪkəl'] urgently needed; absolutely necessary.
- dispensable
- indispensable
adjective. ['ˈkrɪtɪkəl'] forming or having the nature of a turning point or crisis.
adjective. ['ˈkrɪtɪkəl'] being in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency.
- inessential

IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Examples of critical thinking include observing, analyzing, discriminating and predicting. Critical thinkers solve problems through observation, data gathering, and reasoning. Other examples of critical thinking are applying standards and s...
An example of constructive criticism is: “I noticed that we have had some trouble communicating lately. What can we do to improve this?” An example of unconstructive criticism is: “You haven’t been communicating with me lately. What’s your ...
Descriptive criticism provides a factual analysis, evaluation or judgement of the quality of a literary or artistic work, musical performance, art exhibit or dramatic production.
synonyms for critical · crucial · dangerous · decisive · dire · integral · perilous · pivotal · precarious
critically ; badly · gravely · painfully ; acutely · badly · dangerously ; adversely · conflictingly · contrarily ; mildly · compassionately · lightly ; agreeably
Synonyms for CRITICAL: particular, demanding, rejective, judgmental, hypercritical, overcritical, captious, faultfinding; Antonyms of CRITICAL: uncritical
critical · 1 (adjective) in the sense of crucial. Synonyms. crucial. all-important. decisive · pivotal · precarious · pressing · serious · urgent · vital · 2 (
What is another word for critical? ; criticising · criticizing ; fault-finding · judgemental ; negative · unfavourable ; unsympathetic · hypercritical ; overcritical
Synonyms for critical in Free Thesaurus. Antonyms for critical. 56 synonyms for critical: crucial, decisive, momentous, deciding, pressing, serious, vital
1. critical · hypercritical · captious · censorious · unfavourable · overcritical · vituperative · searing · faultfinding · unfavorable · deprecative · sarcastic&n...
Synonyms for CRITICAL: crucial, evaluative, penetrating, calumniatory, disapproving, vital, inclined to judge with severity; Antonyms for CRITICAL:
critical - adjective ; very important · Important · important ; very seriously sick or injured · Feeling and being unhealthy or ill · ill ; according to critics.
critical ; Sense: Adjective: crucial · crucial Collocations, important · key ; Sense: Adjective: criticizing · faultfinding, judgmental · judgemental ; Sense:
1. critical · uncritical · favorable · unsarcastic · amicable · good · complimentary · affirmative · scathing · hypercritical · captious · censorious