captious Hear it!

captious Definition

cap·tious (-s̸həs)

adjective

  1. made only for the sake of argument or faultfinding captious criticism
  2. fond of catching others in mistakes; quick to find fault; quibbling; carping

Etymology: ME capcious < L captiosus < caption

captious Related Forms

cap′·tiously adverb cap′·tious·ness noun

captious Synonyms

captious

modif.

  1. Critical

    faultfinding, carping, caviling; see critical 2, sarcastic, severe 1.

  2. Tricky

    wily, subtle, sophistical; see confusing, sly 1. See syn. study at critical.

captious Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

critic: I am enjoying your insights into Grange Hill and think you make a valued contribution to the forum as a far from captious critic.