Noun: criticality ,kri-tu'ka-lu-tee
- A critical state; especially the point at which a nuclear reaction is self-sustaining
"The reactor reached criticality and began producing power"
- A state of critical urgency
"The criticality of the patient's condition required immediate surgery";
- criticalness, cruciality
Derived forms: criticalities
See also: critical, noncritical
Type of: climacteric, critical point, crossroads, juncture, urgency
Encyclopedia: Criticality