critical

I (crucial) adjective acute, anceps, chief, climacteric, climactic, commanding, considerable, deciding, decisive, determining, dubius, essential, eventful, exigent, far-reaching, fateful, foremost, grave, imperative, important, imposing, key, major, material, momentous, never to be forgotten, notable, of decisive importance, of great consequence, of importance, of vital importance, outstanding, overruling, overshadowing, paramount, pivotal, pressing, primary, principal, prominent, serious, significant, solemn, strategic, substantial, turning, urgent, vital, weighty associated concepts: critical stage of a trial II (faultfinding) adjective accusing, blaming, captious, carping, castigating, caustic, caviling, censorious, censuring, chiding, choleric, comminatory, condemnatory, condemning, criminative, criminatory, criticizing severely, cynical, damnatory, defamatory, denunciatory, derogatory, disapproving, elegans, exacting, hard upon, hardhitting, hypercritical, inclined to judge with severity, nagging, objecting, objurgatory, overcritical, rebuking, recriminative, reprehensive, reproachful, reprobative, reproving, scarifying, scathing, scolding, severe, taunting, ultracritical, uncomplimentary, upbraiding III index acute, crucial, cynical, decisive, discriminating (judicious), essential (required), exigent, grave (important), imperative, important (urgent), indispensable, key, material (important), momentous, necessary (required), nonconsenting, particular (exacting), pejorative, precarious, precise, remonstrative, sensitive (discerning), serious (grave), severe, strategic, urgent, vital