(1):
(n.) Inclined to make nice distinctions, or to exercise careful judgment and selection; exact; nicely judicious.
(2):
(n.) 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.
(3):
(n.) Inclined to criticise or find fault; fastidious; captious; censorious; exacting.
(4):
(n.) Qualified to criticise, or pass judgment upon, literary or artistic productions.
(5):
(n.) Pertaining to criticism or the critic's art; of the nature of a criticism; accurate; as, critical knowledge; a critical dissertation.
(6):
(n.) Characterized by thoroughness and a reference to principles, as becomes a critic; as, a critical analysis of a subject.