hypercritical

adjective

hy·​per·​crit·​i·​cal ˌhī-pər-ˈkri-ti-kəl 

: meticulously or excessively critical

hypercritically

ˌhī-pər-ˈkri-ti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• captious
• carping
• caviling
• cavilling
• critical
• faultfinding
• judgmental
• overcritical
• rejective

Choose the Right Synonym for hypercritical

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 hypercritical in a Sentence

if you go by what that hypercritical reviewer says, you are going to end up seeing very few movies

Recent Examples on the Web

While Pansy’s hypercritical diatribes can be hilarious at times, the emotional pain that clearly underlies her behavior is heartbreaking. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 11 Jan. 2025

Especially as a woman online, a lot of people are so hypercritical of that sort of thing. —Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Oct. 2024

While Pansy’s hypercritical diatribes can be hilarious at times, the emotional pain that clearly underlies her behavior is heartbreaking. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 11 Jan. 2025

Especially as a woman online, a lot of people are so hypercritical of that sort of thing. —Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1605, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hypercritical

• analytical
• apolitical
• diacritical
• hypocritical
• nonpolitical
• parasitical
• supercritical
• critical
• geopolitical
• levitical
• noncritical
• political

Kids Definition

hypercritical

adjective

hy·​per·​crit·​i·​cal ˌhī-pər-ˈkrit-i-kəl 

: too critical

hypercritically

-k(ə-)lē 

adverb