faultfinding

Frequently Asked Questions About faultfinding

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