criticality

noun

crit·​i·​cal·​i·​ty ˌkri-tə-ˈka-lə-tē 

: a critical quality, state, or nature

The true criticality of that basic political rationale is being demonstrated in the 1990s.

—Colin S. Gray

But the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, in a report released Tuesday, found that the list was not child's play: all these "unusual or out-of-place" sites "whose criticality is not readily apparent" are inexplicably included in the official federal antiterrorism database.

—Eric Lipton

specifically, physics : the state in which a mass of fissionable material sustains or is able to sustain a nuclear chain reaction

Criticality can be achieved by increasing mass (adding more plutonium) or … by compressing a barely subcritical mass to increase its density.

—Daniel J. Lenihan

How big is a critical mass? That depends on the proportion of fissile material and on its shape and configuration. Surrounding the mass with a neutron-reflecting substance further reduces the size needed for criticality, by returning neutrons that would otherwise escape.

—Richard Wolfson

Examples of criticality in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For renewable energy and green technology, the criticality of rare earth minerals has escalated as well. —Sahit Muja, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Aalo expects to complete construction and reach criticality by July 4, 2026, a timeline the company says demonstrates the speed at which small, modular nuclear reactors can be deployed. —Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2025

Sheila understood the importance of the work and the criticality of both maintaining quality and keeping up with demand. —Nelson P. Repenning, Big Think, 26 Aug. 2025

To understand the criticality of cities’s role around economic prosperity, innovation, as well as cultural exchange. —Fortune Editors, Fortune, 6 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1763, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for criticality

• abnormality
• cardinality
• commonality
• communality
• cordiality
• corporeality
• criminality
• functionality
• generality
• geniality
• hospitality
• illegality