" critical "

[Adjective]  | "crit*i*cal" | \ ˈkri-ti-kəl \

1: inclined to criticize severely and unfavorably

2: consisting of or involving criticism; also : of or relating to the judgment of critics

3: exercising or involving careful judgment or judicious evaluation

Origin: 1556 ;

 In sense "being at a turning point," from 16th-17th century cretike, criticke "at a turning point" (Middle English cretic, borrowed from Late Latin criticus "at a turning point, decisive," borrowed from Greek kritikós, taken as derivative of krísis {see: |crisis|crisis}, replacing earlier krísimos) + {see: |-al:1|-al:1}; in sense "inclined to criticize, involving criticism," from {see: |critic:1|critic:1} + {see: |-al:1|-al:1} {mat|critic:1|};

[Noun]  | "critical angle" 

1: the least angle of incidence at which total reflection takes place

Origin: 1829 ;

[Noun]  | "critical care" 

1: the monitoring and treatment of critically ill or injured patients : intensive care

2: a designated area of a hospital providing critical care : intensive care unit —often hyphenated when used before another noun

Origin: 1956 ;

[Noun]  | "critical care unit" 

1: a unit of a hospital providing intensive care for critically ill or injured patients : intensive care unit

Origin: 1956 ;

[Noun]  | "critical condition" 

1: a serious state in which an ill or injured individual has dangerously unstable or abnormal vital signs and typically requires short-term life support measures (such as mechanical respiration or defibrillation) for stabilization and support prior to or during recovery

Origin: 1815 ;

[Noun]  | "critical mass" 

1: a size, number, or amount large enough to produce a particular result

Origin: 1947 ;

[Noun]  | "critical point" 

1: a point on the graph of a function where the derivative is zero or infinite

Origin: 1848 ;

[Noun]  | "critical race theory" 

1: a group of concepts (such as the idea that race is a sociological rather than biological designation, and that racism pervades society and is fostered and perpetuated by the legal system) used for examining the relationship between race and the laws and legal institutions of a country and especially the United States; also : a movement advocating the examination of this relationship —abbreviation CRT

Origin: 1989 ;

[Noun]  | "critical region" 

1: the set of outcomes of a statistical test for which the null hypothesis is to be rejected

Origin: 1933 ;

[Noun]  | "critical thinking" 

1: the act or practice of thinking critically (as by applying reason and questioning assumptions) in order to solve problems, evaluate information, discern biases, etc.

2: the set of skills, methods, etc. involved in critical thinking —sometimes hyphenated when used before another noun

Origin: 1815 ;

[Adjective]  | "critical" 

[Adjective]  | "self-critical"