Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective hypercritical contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of hypercritical are captious, carping, censorious, critical, and faultfinding. While all these words mean "inclined to look for and point out faults and defects," hypercritical suggests a tendency to judge by unreasonably strict standards.

hypercritical disparagement of other people's work

Where would captious be a reasonable alternative to hypercritical?

The meanings of captious and hypercritical largely overlap; however, 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 hypercritical?

Although the words carping and hypercritical have much in common, carping implies an ill-natured or perverse picking of flaws.

a carping editorial

When can censorious be used instead of hypercritical?

The words censorious and hypercritical can be used in similar contexts, but censorious implies a disposition to be severely critical and condemnatory.

the censorious tone of the review

When could critical be used to replace hypercritical?

While in some cases nearly identical to hypercritical, 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 hypercritical?

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

a faultfinding reviewer

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 hypercritical Savvy and sophisticated, Vivian Kensington embodies Virgo's conservative and meticulous approach, which on the dark side, includes her hypercritical nature and tactical strategy to humiliate Elle Woods. Valerie Mesa, Peoplemag, 12 July 2024 As child care advocate and author of Build Your Village, Florence Ann Romano notes Hilton is also offering a valuable lesson about positively navigating parenting and unsolicited feedback in today's hyperconnected (and hypercritical) world. Mia Taylor, Parents, 30 May 2024 Milli Vanilli’s fanbase felt bamboozled to the point of suing the musicians for fraud and racketeering, and the media crucified Milli Vanilli daily, with coverage of the reveal ranging from hypercritical to flat-out mocking. Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, 27 Oct. 2023 On a recent episode of The View, the actress mused that the singing competition is responsible for igniting a hypercritical culture in which everyone is obsessed with judging one another. Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 26 May 2023 See All Example Sentences for hypercritical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hypercritical
Adjective
  • Founded by Frank Fertitta IV and Landon Gyulay, the Easy Day Foundation is a 501(c)(3) grant-making nonprofit committed to helping Veterans transition to civilian life by addressing critical needs including mental health care, job training, placement, and family support services.
    Jem Aswad, Variety, 5 May 2025
  • Update: Republished on May 4 with a critical new fix that impacts Gmail users and more information on passkeys and plans to delete passwords altogether.
    Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025
Adjective
  • In that case, some felt the tone crossed a line and became overly judgmental.
    Mohammed Soliman, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Apr. 2025
  • On April 29, entrepreneur, artist, and mental health advocate Tallulah Willis will take the stage at POSSIBLE, the premier marketing event in Miami, to share a simple but powerful philosphy about autism and autistic people: be curious, not judgmental.
    Jennifer Jay Palumbo, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Hypercritical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hypercritical. Accessed 21 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on hypercritical

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