All 6 Uses of
critical
in
Gifted Hands
- Several of Mother's friends criticized her strictness.†
p. 34.1 *criticized = gave an opinion of what was wrong with somethingstandard suffix: The suffix "-ize" converts a word to a verb. This is the same pattern you see in words like apologize, theorize, and dramatize.
- "They can hate me," she answered, cutting off the woman's criticism, "hut they're going to get a good education just the same!"†
p. 34.2
- Neither Donlin Long nor I could be certain that parts of the critical brain tissue, such as the vision center, were wholly separate.†
p. 196.9
- Fortunately, as we had expected, the boys shared only a main drainage system, called the superior sagittal sinus, a critically important vein.†
p. 196.9 *
- Just before 11:30 p.m., 20 minutes after we started lowering their body temperatures, came the critical moment.†
p. 198.9
- I nodded, exhaling deeply, suddenly aware that I'd been holding my breath during those last critical moments.†
p. 201.3 *
Definitions:
-
(1)
(critical as in: a critical problem) important, serious, or dangerous
-
(2)
(critical as in: don't be so critical) finding fault and telling others; or tending to have unfavorable opinions
-
(3)
(critical as in: critical acclaim) relating to careful analysis or thoughtful judgement of what is good and bad about something -- possibly from people whose job is to share their expert opinions in a given industry
-
(4)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
See a comprehensive dictionary for more specialized senses of critical including those in mathematics and nuclear energy.