captious
AdjectiveSynonyms:
faultfinding
WordNet 3.0
Adjective (1)
- tending to find and call attention to faults“a captious pedant”“an excessively demanding and faultfinding tutor”Synonyms: faultfinding
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
Captious \Cap"tious\, a. [F. captieux, L. captiosus. See Caption.]
1.Apt to catch at faults; disposed to find fault or to cavil; eager to object; difficult to please. [1913 Webster]
A captious and suspicious age.— Stillingfleet.[1913 Webster]
I am sensible I have not disposed my materials to abide the test of a captious controversy.— Bwike.[1913 Webster]
2.Fitted to harass, perplex, or insnare; insidious; troublesome. [1913 Webster]
Captious restraints on navigation.— Bancroft.
Syn: Caviling, carping, fault-finding; censorious; hypercritical; peevish, fretful; perverse; troublesome.
Usage: Captious, caviling, Carping. A captious person is one who has a fault-finding habit or manner, or is disposed to catch at faults, errors, etc., with quarrelsome intent; a caviling person is disposed to raise objections on frivolous grounds; carping implies that one is given to ill-natured, persistent, or unreasonable fault-finding, or picking up of the words or actions of others. [1913 Webster]
Caviling is the carping of argument, carping the caviling of ill temper.— C. J. Smith.[1913 Webster]