adjective
critical
Extremely important or involving serious danger.
Clean drinking water is critical to the health of this community.
Etymology
The Greek adjective concerns judgment. Critical developed the idea of a decisive point requiring judgment, then described situations of crucial importance or serious danger.
More examples
- The next few hours are critical for the rescue effort.
- She remains in critical condition after the accident.
- A critical shortage of nurses forces the hospital to postpone surgeries.
Forms
critical · more critical · most critical
critically adverb — In an extremely important or dangerously serious way.