Critical
Critical adjective - Given to making or expressing unfavorable judgments about things.
Exceptional and critical are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Exceptional" instead an adjective "Critical".
Exceptional
Exceptional adjective - Being out of the ordinary.
Critical and exceptional are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Critical" instead an adjective "Exceptional".
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
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Common Place Rare: Founding Stones are mediocre melee weapons that possess an exceptional ability of being a one-off throwing weapon with an automatic hit and critical damage with unlimited range.
Source: Tabletop Game / Kingdom Death - A size "L" Lightning Bruiser super with exceptional attacks and the "Flame" pilot skillnote Increase accuracy/evasion/critical/armor the higher the "Flame" level useful for supers, and unlike its K counterpart, its EN usage is much lower in L.
Source: Game Breaker / Super Robot Wars - A few exceptional (or lucky) works with unexceptional debuts will be re-discovered and re-analyzed and become critical darlings after about twenty years, as well as timeless classics in the eyes of the public, usually when their authors/producers are no longer around to bask in their belated fame.
Source: Vindicated by History
Cite this Source
Exceptional and Critical. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 22, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/critical/exceptional
Critical & Exceptional. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/critical/exceptional>.
Exceptional or Critical. 2016. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/critical/exceptional.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "critical" and "exceptional" have occurred on timeline