critically
Americanadverb
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in a judgmental or disapproving manner.
The backlash was immediate after he spoke critically of his opponent’s personal life.
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in a manner involving skillful analysis of merit, as of a decision or work of art or literature: critically admired novels.
a critically sanctioned project;
critically admired novels.
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to a devastating degree, leading to or reaching a crisis.
As floodwaters rise, we are critically lacking sandbags and evacuation transport.
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seriously or extremely, as of a gravely unstable medical condition: a critically ill pneumonia patient.
critically injured;
a critically ill pneumonia patient.
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with decisive or essential importance with respect to the outcome; crucially; indispensably.
The success of this experiment critically relies on optimal weather.
Other Word Forms
- noncritically adverb
Etymology
Origin of critically
First recorded in 1645–55; critical ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That will mean less snowmelt feeding the river’s reservoirs, which are declining to critically low levels.
From Los Angeles Times
Most critically, they found it hard to recruit top talent.
Metacognitive skills will be very important—flexibility, adaptability, experimentation, thinking critically, being able to challenge things.
The maneuvers worked but left the pilots critically low on fuel.
When researchers compared the genomes of these ancient animals with modern breeds, they found the closest genetic match was the critically endangered Old Irish Goat still surviving today.
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
