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CRITICALITY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A critical state; especially the point at which a nuclear reaction is self-sustaining
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("criticality" is a kind of...):
critical point; crossroads; juncture (a crisis situation or point in time when a critical decision must be made)
Attribute:
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)
noncritical (not critical; not at a point of abrupt change)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "criticality"):
flash point; flashpoint (point at which something is ready to blow up)
Derivation:
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)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A state of critical urgency
Synonyms:
criticality; criticalness; cruciality
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("criticality" is a kind of...):
urgency (the state of being urgent; an earnest and insistent necessity)
Derivation:
critical (being in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency)
critical (urgently needed; absolutely necessary)
