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
  • This figure has already surpassed the 1,274 cases recorded during the peak year of 2019, marking a critical public health milestone reached just halfway through 2025.
    Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 July 2025
  • States loan the money to cities and towns at low interest rates, enabling communities to spread out the cost of critical government services people take for granted, such as replacing leaky street mains, maintaining treatment plants and rehabbing water towers.
    Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 6 July 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
  • But what if, despite your best intentions, your communication is coming off as judgmental?
    Melody Wilding, CNBC, 6 July 2025
  • No one likes an audience member that's judgmental the whole time.
    Meredith Wilshere, People.com, 28 June 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 10 Jul. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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