kritischerer

Kritischerer is a rarely used, nonstandard inflected form of the German adjective kritisch, meaning “more critical.” In standard German, the comparative form is kritischer, and the superlative is am kritischsten. The form kritischerer is not part of everyday prescriptive grammar and is scarcely listed in dictionaries. When it appears, it is typically in informal writing or stylistic contexts where an author seeks extra emphasis or irony.

Origin and usage notes

The term arises from the base kritisch, with the customary comparative suffix -er to produce kritischer. Some authors or speakers may attach an additional -er to create an intensified or emphatic variant, yielding kritischerer or kritischerer. This practice is contested and often described as a hypercorrection or stylistic flourish rather than standard usage. The construction may be reinforced with adverbs such as noch, as in noch kritischerer, to stress an even higher degree of critique. However, such forms are not widely accepted in formal writing.

Context and acceptability

Kritischerer tends to appear in headlines, satire, experimental prose, or marketing copy where authors aim to provoke a stronger impression of critical judgment. In formal or academic texts, clearer alternatives are preferred, such as kritischer or even more precise phrasing like noch kritischer, depending on the intended nuance. Overall, kritischerer is considered marginal and nonstandard outside particular stylistic or humorous contexts.

See also

German grammar, adjectives and their comparative and superlative forms, stylistic devices in German writing.