Critical vs. Fatal — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Critical and Fatal
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Definitions
Critical
Expressing adverse or disapproving comments or judgements
I was very critical of the previous regime
Fatal
Causing death
A fatal accident
Critical
Expressing or involving an analysis of the merits and faults of a work of literature, music, or art
She never won the critical acclaim she sought
Fatal
Causing or capable of causing death.
Critical
(of a situation or problem) having the potential to become disastrous; at a point of crisis
The floodwaters had not receded and the situation was still critical
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Fatal
Causing ruin or destruction; disastrous
"Such doctrines, if true, would be absolutely fatal to my theory" (Charles Darwin).
Critical
Relating to or denoting a point of transition from one state to another
If the density is less than a certain critical value the gravitational attraction will be too weak to halt the expansion
Fatal
Of decisive importance; fateful
Came through at the fatal moment.
Critical
(of a nuclear reactor or fuel) maintaining a self-sustaining chain reaction
The reactor is due to go critical in October
Fatal
Concerning or determining one's fate
The fatal thread of life.
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Critical
Judging severely and finding fault
A writer who is very critical of the government's foreign policy.
Fatal
(Obsolete) Having been destined; fated.
Critical
Relating to or characterized by criticism; reflecting careful analysis and judgment
A critical appreciation of the filmmaker's work.
Fatal
Proceeding from, or appointed by, fate or destiny.
Critical
Of, relating to, or characteristic of critics
A play that received great critical acclaim.
Fatal
Foreboding death or great disaster.
Critical
Including scholarly commentary and interpretation
A critical edition of Poe's stories.
Fatal
Causing death or destruction.
A fatal wound; a fatal disease; that fatal day; a fatal mistake
Critical
Forming or having the nature of a turning point; crucial or decisive
A critical point in the campaign.
Fatal
(computing) Causing a sudden end to the running of a program.
A fatal error; a fatal exception
Critical
(Medicine) Being or relating to a grave physical condition, especially of a patient.
Fatal
A fatality; an event that leads to death.
Critical
Being in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency
A critical shortage of food.
Fatal
(computing) A fatal error; a failure that causes a program to terminate.
Critical
Extremely important or essential
A critical element of the plan.
A second income that is critical to the family's well-being.
Fatal
Proceeding from, or appointed by, fate or destiny; necessary; inevitable.
These thing are fatal and necessary.
It was fatal to the king to fight for his money.
Critical
(Mathematics) Of or relating to a point at which a curve has a horizontal tangent line, as at a maximum or minimum.
Fatal
Foreboding death or great disaster.
That fatal screech owl to our houseThat nothing sung but death to us and ours.
Critical
Chemistry & Physics Of or relating to the value of a measurement, such as temperature, at which an abrupt change in a quality, property, or state occurs
A critical temperature of water is 100°C, its boiling point at standard atmospheric pressure.
Fatal
Causing death or destruction; deadly; mortal; destructive; calamitous; as, a fatal wound; a fatal disease; a fatal day; a fatal error.
Critical
(Physics) Capable of sustaining a nuclear chain reaction
The reactor has gone critical.
Fatal
Bringing death
Critical
Inclined to find fault or criticize.
A good teacher is fair but critical.
Fatal
Having momentous consequences; of decisive importance;
That fateful meeting of the U.N. when...it declared war on North Korea
The fatal day of the election finally arrived
Critical
Pertaining to, or indicating, a crisis or turning point.
This is a critical moment.
Fatal
(of events) having extremely unfortunate or dire consequences; bringing ruin;
The stock market crashed on Black Friday
A calamitous defeat
The battle was a disastrous end to a disastrous campaign
Such doctrines, if true, would be absolutely fatal to my theory
It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it
A fateful error
Critical
Extremely important.
It's critical that you deliver this on time.
Fatal
Controlled or decreed by fate; predetermined;
A fatal series of events
Critical
Relating to criticism or careful analysis, such as literary or film criticism.
The movie was a critical success, but bombed at the box-office.
Critical
(medicine) Of a patient condition involving unstable vital signs and a prognosis that predicts the condition could worsen; or, a patient condition that requires urgent treatment in an intensive care or critical care medical facility.
The patient's condition is critical.
Critical
Likely to go out of control if disturbed, that is, opposite of stable.
The political situation was so critical that the government declared the state of siege.
Critical
(physics) Of the point (in temperature, reagent concentration etc.) where a nuclear or chemical reaction becomes self-sustaining.
The reaction was about to become critical.
Critical
(physics) Of a temperature that is equal to the temperature of the critical point of a substance, i.e. the temperature above which the substance cannot be liquefied.
Critical
A critical value, factor, etc.
Critical
In breakdancing, a kind of airflare move in which the dancer hops from one hand to the other.
Critical
Qualified to criticise, or pass judgment upon, literary or artistic productions.
It is submitted to the judgment of more critical ears to direct and determine what is graceful and what is not.
Critical
Pertaining to criticism or the critic's art; of the nature of a criticism; accurate; as, critical knowledge; a critical dissertation.
Critical
Inclined to make nice distinctions, or to exercise careful judgment and selection; exact; nicely judicious.
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.
Critical
Inclined to criticise or find fault; fastidious; captious; censorious; exacting.
O gentle lady, do not put me to 't,For I am nothing, if not critical.
Critical
Characterized by thoroughness and a reference to principles, as becomes a critic; as, a critical analysis of a subject.
Critical
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.
Our circumstances are indeed critical.
The small moment, the exact point, the critical minute, on which every good work so much depends.
Critical
Marked by a tendency to find and call attention to errors and flaws;
A critical attitude
Critical
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
Critical
Characterized by careful evaluation and judgment;
A critical reading
A critical dissertation
A critical analysis of Melville's writings
Critical
Urgently needed; absolutely necessary;
A critical element of the plan
Critical medical supplies
Vital for a healthy society
Of vital interest
Critical
Forming or having the nature of a turning point or crisis;
A critical point in the campaign
The critical test
Critical
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
Critical
Of or involving or characteristic of critics or criticism;
Critical acclaim
