captious
adjective
cap·tious ˈkap-shəs 
1
: marked by an often ill-natured inclination to stress faults and raise objections
captious critics
a captious rivalry
2
: calculated to confuse, entrap, or entangle in argument
a captious question
captiously adverb
captiousness noun
Did you know?
Captious comes from Latin captio, which refers to a deception or verbal quibble. Arguments labeled captious are likely to "capture" a person; they often entrap through subtly deceptive reasoning or trifling points. A captious individual is one who might also be dubbed "hypercritical," the sort of carping, censorious critic only too ready to point out minor faults and raise objections on trivial grounds.
Synonyms
- carping
- caviling
- cavilling
- critical
- faultfinding
- hypercritical
- judgmental
- overcritical
- rejective
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
a captious and cranky eater who's never met a vegetable he didn't hate
Recent Examples on the Web So much of the new sobriety flex is anathema to the captious alcoholics of 12-step groups. 
Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 19 Apr. 2022 That a right-wing party traditionally captious about American patriotism did not react heatedly to evidence of Russian interference in US elections is bizarre. Darryl Pinckney, The New York Review of Books, 5 Nov. 2020 Berryman was a captious and self-heating complainer, slow to cool. Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2020
Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 19 Apr. 2022 That a right-wing party traditionally captious about American patriotism did not react heatedly to evidence of Russian interference in US elections is bizarre. Darryl Pinckney, The New York Review of Books, 5 Nov. 2020 Berryman was a captious and self-heating complainer, slow to cool. Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2020 Word History
Etymology
Middle English capcious, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French captieux, from Latin captiosus, from captio deception, verbal quibble, from capere to take — more at heave entry 1
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
captiousness
noun
as in irritableness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- irritableness
- waspishness
- irascibleness
- pettishness
- disagreeableness
- irritability
- fractiousness
- crossness
- peevishness
- fretfulness
- biliousness
- crankiness
- querulousness
- grouchiness
- testiness
- orneriness
- petulance
- imperialism
- acidity
- grumpiness
- hyperaggressiveness
- irascibility
- quarrelsomeness
- rudeness
- surliness
- disputatiousness
- jingoism
- militarism
- huffiness
- assaultiveness
- antagonism
- unfriendliness
- hostility
- militantness
- fierceness
- pugnacity
- combativeness
- militancy
- militance
- aggression
- belligerence
- bellicosity
- belligerency
- contentiousness
- scrappiness
- feistiness
- truculence
- defiance
- aggressiveness
- fight
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- nonaggression
- pacifism
- friendliness
- antiaggression
- antimilitarism
- benevolence
- sociability
- gentleness
- geniality
- pleasantness
- graciousness
- amiability
- affability
- amicability
- cordiality
- anti-imperialism
- mildness
- placability
- kindliness
- complaisance
- amenability