critical angle
noun
Simple meaning
The smallest angle of incidence for which light is totally reflected.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kritihkuhlangguhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkɹɪtɪkəˈlæŋɡəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
optics
The smallest angle of incidence for which light is totally reflected
optics
The angle of incidence beyond which light traveling through a medium experiences total internal reflection upon encountering a boundary with a less refractive medium.
aviation
The angle of attack beyond which an airfoil stalls, experiencing a decrease in lift and increase in drag due to separation of airflow from the upper surface of the airfoil.
architecture
The angle beyond which a ramp or a set of stairs is considered uncomfortable or unsafe.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: The smallest angle of incidence for which light is totally reflected
Used this way, critical angle is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.