Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective faultfinding contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of faultfinding are captious, carping, censorious, critical, and hypercritical. While all these words mean "inclined to look for and point out faults and defects," faultfinding implies a querulous or exacting temperament.

a faultfinding reviewer

When is it sensible to use captious instead of faultfinding?

The synonyms captious and faultfinding are sometimes interchangeable, but captious suggests a readiness to detect trivial faults or raise objections on trivial grounds.

a captious critic

When would carping be a good substitute for faultfinding?

The words carping and faultfinding are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, carping implies an ill-natured or perverse picking of flaws.

a carping editorial

In what contexts can censorious take the place of faultfinding?

Although the words censorious and faultfinding have much in common, censorious implies a disposition to be severely critical and condemnatory.

the censorious tone of the review

When could critical be used to replace faultfinding?

While in some cases nearly identical to faultfinding, critical may also imply an effort to see a thing clearly and truly in order to judge it fairly.

a critical essay

When is hypercritical a more appropriate choice than faultfinding?

The words hypercritical and faultfinding can be used in similar contexts, but hypercritical suggests a tendency to judge by unreasonably strict standards.

hypercritical disparagement of other people's work

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for faultfinding
Adjective
  • These countries act as more than just mere final destinations for shark meat consumption, operating as critical hubs that receive products from around the world, process them, and send them onward to other markets.
    Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2025
  • Sitting 5 1/2 games out of the final Wild Card spot with a 64-66 record, the Rangers have floundered at a critical time, losing their past four series while on a 3-11 skid coming into Friday’s game.
    Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Aug. 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
Adjective
  • Many Reddit users found the note to be an out-of-touch and judgmental overreach.
    Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025
  • That changed with the show’s third season, which focused attention on the Scott family, bringing them to Newport and introducing them to a whole new faction of the Black elite, including the judgmental Mrs. Kirkland, played by Phylicia Rashad.
    Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • My hypercritical brain took this imperfection and ran with it.
    Jailynn Taylor, Allure, 26 June 2025
  • This has led to multiple fans getting hypercritical of the iconic wrestler, calling out his age and accusing him of simply being a product of former WCW president Eric Bischoff.
    Jeremy Hanna, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 June 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Faultfinding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/faultfinding. Accessed 28 Aug. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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