captious

(kăp'shəs)
adj.

1. Marked by a disposition to find and point out trivial faults: a captious scholar.
2. Intended to entrap or confuse, as in an argument: a captious question.

[Middle English capcious, from Old French captieux, from Latin captiōsus, from captiō, seizure, sophism, from captus, past participle of capere, to seize.]

captiously cap'tious·ly adv.
captiousness cap'tious·ness n.

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adjective

Inclined to judge too severely: carping, censorious, critical, faultfinding, hypercritical, overcritical. See praise/blame.

adj

Definition: very critical
Antonyms: commendatory, complimentary, encouraging, flattering, laudatory, praising

IN BRIEF: Critical especially over small things.

Her mother was particularly captious about the way the bed was made.

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For a list of words related to captious, see:

• Demanding, Critical, Calculating, or Selfish
• Strategy and Tactics - captious: (adj) designed to confuse or ensnare, esp. in argument

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See words rhyming with "captious."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Captious.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - smålig, rethaverisk

Nederlands (Dutch)
muggenzifterig, misleidend

Français (French)
adj. - ergoteur

Deutsch (German)
adj. - überkritisch

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - φιλοκατήγορος, δύστροπος

Italiano (Italian)
capzioso, sofistico

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - capcioso, implicante

Русский (Russian)
придирчивый

Español (Spanish)
adj. - criticón, reparón

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - klandersjuk, försåtlig

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
吹毛求疵的, 挑剔的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 吹毛求疵的, 挑剔的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 공연히 헐뜯는, 억지 쓰는, 짓궂은

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - あら捜しする, 揚げ足取りの, 人を迷わす

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) يصعب إرضائه, مماحك‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮חטטני, קטנוני‬

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