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critical thinking noun

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What does the noun critical thinking mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun critical thinking . See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

How common is the noun critical thinking ?

Where does the noun critical thinking come from.

Earliest known use

The earliest known use of the noun critical thinking is in the 1810s.

OED's earliest evidence for critical thinking is from 1815, in Critical Review .

critical thinking is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: critical adj.

Nearby entries

  • critical potential, n. 1916–
  • critical pressure, n. 1878–
  • critical race theory, n. 1989–
  • critical rationalism, n. 1945–
  • critical region, n. 1933–
  • critical size, n. 1940–
  • critical state, n. 1871–
  • critical temperature, n. 1870–
  • critical theorist, n. 1753–
  • critical theory, n. 1799–
  • critical thinking, n. 1815–
  • critical volume, n. 1878–
  • criticaster, n. 1669–
  • criticasterism, n. 1805–
  • criticastry, n. 1887–
  • criticiasis, n. 1874
  • criticism, n. 1606–
  • criticist, n. & adj. 1838–
  • criticizable, adj. 1751–
  • criticize, v. 1621–
  • criticizer, n. a1680–

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Meaning & use

Entry history for critical thinking, n..

Originally published as part of the entry for critical, adj. & n.

critical thinking, n. was first published in 2018.

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Citation details

Factsheet for critical thinking, n., browse entry.

Cambridge Dictionary

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Meaning of critical thinking in English

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  • adjudication
  • interpretable
  • interpretive
  • interpretively
  • reinterpretation
  • reinvestigate
  • reinvestigation
  • risk assessment

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an idea, something said or written, or behaviour that is silly or stupid

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critical thinking noun

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Example sentences critical thinking

Moreover, critical thinking is central to the pedagogy of a liberal education.

Definition of 'critical' critical

IPA Pronunciation Guide

Definition of 'thinking' thinking

Cobuild collocations critical thinking.

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  • critical temperature
  • critical theory
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critical thinking

  • 1.1 Pronunciation
  • 1.2.1 Translations
  • 1.3 References

Pronunciation

critical thinking ( uncountable )

  • 1898 , Josiah Royce , “Review of In Tune with the Infinite; or, Fulness of Peace, Power, and Plenty by Ralph Waldo Trine”, in International Journal of Ethics , volume 9, number 1, page 126 : The new mysticism, very prevalent at this time in America, is thus, indeed, not ill represented by this very pleasant book. Critical thinking there is none, of course, from one end of the volume to the other.
  • 1990 , Kerry S. Walters, “Critical Thinking, Rationality, and the Vulcanization of Students”, in Journal of Higher Education , volume 61 , number 4, page 450 : As any educator knows, the training of students in critical thinking , analytic skills, and problem solving has become a top educational priority in recent years.
  • 2006 June 4, David Pease, “ Teenage Wasteland ”, in New York Times , retrieved 16 June 2009 : Recent studies of adolescents' brain scans show that the consumption of alcohol by young adults can cause long-lasting damage, particularly in areas related to learning, memory and critical thinking .
  • 2020 , Gordon G. Chang , The Great U.S.-China Tech War , New York : Encounter Books , →ISBN , →OCLC , page 24 : Moreover, Xi's demand for absolute political obedience suffocates society. Suffocation can only inhibit critical thinking , an essential element of research, even in areas far removed from Xi's Maost-like ideology.
  • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:critical thinking .

Translations

  • “ critical thinking ”, in OneLook Dictionary Search .

critical thinking noun

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