# criminal vs critical

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### criminal
*adjective · IPA /ˈkɹɪm.ɪ.nəl/ · frequency rank #1,818*
Against the law; forbidden by law.

### critical
*adjective · IPA /ˈkɹɪt.ɪ.kəl/ · frequency rank #1,559*
Inclined to find fault or criticize.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/criminal-vs-critical