censorious

adjective

cen·​so·​ri·​ous sen-ˈsȯr-ē-əs 

: marked by or given to censure (see censure entry 1 sense 2)

censorious comments

a censorious critic

censoriously adverb

censoriousness noun

Choose the Right Synonym for censorious

critical, hypercritical, faultfinding, captious, carping, censorious mean inclined to look for and point out faults and defects.

critical may also imply an effort to see a thing clearly and truly in order to judge it fairly.

a critical essay

hypercritical suggests a tendency to judge by unreasonably strict standards.

hypercritical disparagement of other people's work

faultfinding implies a querulous or exacting temperament.

a faultfinding reviewer

captious suggests a readiness to detect trivial faults or raise objections on trivial grounds.

a captious critic

carping implies an ill-natured or perverse picking of flaws.

a carping editorial

censorious implies a disposition to be severely critical and condemnatory.

the censorious tone of the review

Examples of censorious in a Sentence

The stunt earned her the scorn of her censorious older sister.

I was surprised by the censorious tone of the book review.

Recent Examples on the Web

On the right, this manifested itself as various forms of xenophobia and a wholesale mistrust of institutional figures; on the left, as much of what came to be called cancel culture and its censorious milieu. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 28 May 2025

Questions arose at the time about how the country, with its famously censorious government regulations, would adapt a show known for political humor. —Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 16 May 2025

In recent years, one pervasive worry was that censorious social-media companies would ban and silence anyone who stepped out of line. —Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 15 May 2025

In Hollywood, naked navels were a no-no and specifically outlawed by the censorious Hays Code that policed the studios until 1968. —Damon Wise, Deadline, 14 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin cēnsōrius "of a censor, severe," derivative of cēnsor censor entry 1

First Known Use

1536, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for censorious

• jeremias
• zacharias
• dryas
• laius
• lyase
• mayas
• pious
• playas
• prius
• elias
• impious
• messias