English Etymology From sub- + critical. Adjective subcritical (not comparable) Of less than critical importance Having a numerical value less than some critical value (physics) Having insufficient mass to sustain a chain reaction a subcritical reactor Derived terms subcriticalitysubcriticallysubcritical mass Related terms supercritical supracritical Translations of less than critical importance Finnish: ei kriittinen having insufficient mass Finnish: alikriittinen Russian: докритический (ru) (dokritičeskij) Wikiwand - on Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.