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carping

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verb

present participle of carp
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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective carping contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of carping are captious, censorious, critical, faultfinding, and hypercritical. While all these words mean "inclined to look for and point out faults and defects," carping implies an ill-natured or perverse picking of flaws.

a carping editorial

When could captious be used to replace carping?

The words captious and carping are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, captious suggests a readiness to detect trivial faults or raise objections on trivial grounds.

a captious critic

When might censorious be a better fit than carping?

While the synonyms censorious and carping are close in meaning, censorious implies a disposition to be severely critical and condemnatory.

the censorious tone of the review

When would critical be a good substitute for carping?

While in some cases nearly identical to carping, 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 carping?

In some situations, the words faultfinding and carping are roughly equivalent. However, faultfinding implies a querulous or exacting temperament.

a faultfinding reviewer

When can hypercritical be used instead of carping?

The meanings of hypercritical and carping largely overlap; however, hypercritical suggests a tendency to judge by unreasonably strict standards.

hypercritical disparagement of other people's work

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of carping
Adjective
But the novel as a whole suggests that Clinton is all too well acquainted with resentment against carping critics and burdensome bureaucracies. Adam Kirsch, The Atlantic, 16 June 2018
Verb
Should the pattern hold true throughout the long march to the Super Bowl, nobody’s going to be carping about the official headcount. Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for carping
Adjective
  • But during a critical game early in the season, that’s exactly what took place.
    The Athletic NFL Staff, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Others took note of Jones on that play, and many were critical of the Chiefs star.
    Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 7 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • And the truth is, other nations should stop complaining — and start learning.
    Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Thus, unlike disgruntled newspaper readers, whose only resort was to write an angry letter to the editor, radio listeners could now vent their frustrations by going over the heads of a local affiliate and complaining directly to the government.
    Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • 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
Verb
  • Now, Darvish will get to pitch in front of a stadium of screaming, hopeful, nervous Cubs fans.
    Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
  • There’s screaming electric guitar AND an orchestra.
    Marta Balaga, Variety, 2 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Many of the people opining and whining about how this moment could be as bad or worse than the 2000 bust are uninformed or ahistorical.
    Jim Cramer, CNBC, 28 Sep. 2025
  • The canine was filmed barking and whining incessantly while balancing himself on his owner's knees.
    Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Venus in Virgo loves precision, but be careful not to slide into scarcity thinking or nitpicking your progress.
    Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 14 Sep. 2025
  • That might seem like nitpicking, except this is a franchise that has had the luxury of starting-caliber linemen as reserves.
    Zach Berman, New York Times, 17 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • The deputies ultimately roll him over before putting on handcuffs as Mull can be heard moaning in pain.
    Nathaniel Percy, Oc Register, 26 Sep. 2025
  • The recognizable munchies didn't stop the cast members from moaning, groaning and throwing up as usual.
    Breanne L. Heldman, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • With five blades sandwiched between two moisturizing bars, this razor speeds up the entire process (no fussing around with shaving cream), nourishing dry skin and making nicks a rare occurrence.
    Sophia Panych, Allure, 16 Sep. 2025
  • This was the mid 1980s and tandem skydiving hadn’t been popularized yet, so his father, Roger, adjusted accordingly by stuffing carpet padding into the leg pads to stop him from fussing.
    Angelina Liu, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Carping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/carping. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

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