Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

Thesaurus

captious

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of captious

given to making or expressing unfavorable judgments about things

  • a captious and cranky eater whoʼs never met a vegetable he didnʼt hate
Synonyms of captious

carping, caviling (or cavilling), critical, faultfinding, hypercritical, judgmental, overcritical, rejective
Words Related to captious

discerning, discriminating, judicious

demanding, exacting, fastidious, finical, finicky, fussy, nitpicky, particular, picky

pettifogging, quibbling

harsh, merciless, uncharitable, unforgiving
Near Antonyms of captious

undiscriminating

undemanding, unfussy

charitable, forgiving
Antonyms of captious

uncritical

Synonym Discussion of captious

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

Learn More about captious

  1. Dictionary: Definition of captious Nglish: Translation of captious for Spanish speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up captious? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show comments hide comments

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games