Result from Foreign Dictionaries (2 entries found)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Critical \Crit"ic*al\ (kr[i^]t"[i^]*kal), a. [See {Critic}, n., {Crisis}.] [1913 Webster] 1. Qualified to criticise, or pass judgment upon, literary or artistic productions. [1913 Webster] It is submitted to the judgment of more critical ears to direct and determine what is graceful and what is not. --Holder. [1913 Webster] 2. Pertaining to criticism or the critic's art; of the nature of a criticism; accurate; as, critical knowledge; a critical dissertation. [1913 Webster] 3. Inclined to make nice distinctions, or to exercise careful judgment and selection; exact; nicely judicious. [1913 Webster] 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. --Bp. Stillingfleet. [1913 Webster] 4. Inclined to criticise or find fault; fastidious; captious; censorious; exacting. [1913 Webster] O gentle lady, do not put me to 't, For I am nothing, if not critical. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 5. Characterized by thoroughness and a reference to principles, as becomes a critic; as, a critical analysis of a subject. [1913 Webster] 6. [See {Crisis}.] 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. [1913 Webster] Our circumstances are indeed critical. --Burke. [1913 Webster] The small moment, the exact point, the critical minute, on which every good work so much depends. --South. [1913 Webster] {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." [1913 Webster] From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: critical adj 1: marked by a tendency to find and call attention to errors and flaws; "a critical attitude" [ant: {uncritical}] 2: at or of a point at which a property or phenomenon suffers an abrupt change especially having enough mass to sustain a chain reaction; "a critical temperature of water is 100 degrees C--its boiling point at standard atmospheric pressure"; "critical mass"; "go critical" [ant: {noncritical}] 3: characterized by careful evaluation and judgment; "a critical reading"; "a critical dissertation"; "a critical analysis of Melville's writings" [ant: {noncritical}, {uncritical}] 4: urgently needed; absolutely necessary; "a critical element of the plan"; "critical medical supplies"; "vital for a healthy society"; "of vital interest" [syn: {critical}, {vital}] 5: forming or having the nature of a turning point or crisis; "a critical point in the campaign"; "the critical test" [syn: {critical}, {decisive}] 6: being in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency; "a critical shortage of food"; "a critical illness"; "an illness at the critical stage" [ant: {noncritical}, {noncrucial}] 7: of or involving or characteristic of critics or criticism; "critical acclaim"