Synonyms of captious

captious

adjective

ˈkap-shəs 

as in critical

given to making or expressing unfavorable judgments about things

a captious and cranky eater who's never met a vegetable he didn't hate

Synonyms & Similar Words

• critical
• hypercritical
• judgmental
• faultfinding
• overcritical
• rejective
• cavilling
• particular
• caviling
• demanding
• carping
• merciless
• discerning
• judicious
• discriminating
• fastidious
• finicky
• nitpicky
• picky
• pettifogging
• finical
• harsh
• uncharitable
• exacting
• fussy
• quibbling
• unforgiving

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• uncritical
• undiscriminating
• charitable
• undemanding
• forgiving
• unfussy

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective captious contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of captious are carping, censorious, critical, faultfinding, and hypercritical. While all these words mean "inclined to look for and point out faults and defects," captious suggests a readiness to detect trivial faults or raise objections on trivial grounds.

a captious critic

When is carping a more appropriate choice than captious?

The meanings of carping and captious largely overlap; however, carping implies an ill-natured or perverse picking of flaws.

a carping editorial

When could censorious be used to replace captious?

The words censorious and captious are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, censorious implies a disposition to be severely critical and condemnatory.

the censorious tone of the review

In what contexts can critical take the place of captious?

In some situations, the words critical and captious are roughly equivalent. However, critical may also imply an effort to see a thing clearly and truly in order to judge it fairly.

a critical essay

When is it sensible to use faultfinding instead of captious?

While the synonyms faultfinding and captious are close in meaning, faultfinding implies a querulous or exacting temperament.

a faultfinding reviewer

When can hypercritical be used instead of captious?

Although the words hypercritical and captious have much in common, hypercritical suggests a tendency to judge by unreasonably strict standards.

hypercritical disparagement of other people's work

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of captious

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

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