V2 Vocabulary Building Dictionary
captious
adjective
Definition: 1. critical and faultfinding; 2. argumentative and desiring to trap others in disagreements
Synonyms: faultfinding, quibbling, complaining, critical, hypercritical, carping
Antonyms: forgiving, tolerant
Tips: Captious often connotes an ongoing pattern of being critical, especially of being overly faultfinding in small matters. It can describe people or their attitudes. Captious is similar to quibbling, but quibbling is used strictly to describe someone who is trying to start a petty and trivial argument. Captious can be used in this sense, but is more often used to describe someone who is overly "faultfinding" and critical. Note: critical can also be a positive word to describe a thorough and fair judgment or analysis, where captious is always a negative word used to describe someone who tends to find fault in everything.
Usage Examples:
A captious perfectionist, she tended to frustrate those around her with her constant critiques of their hard work. (faultfinding, complaining)
I tried to resist her captious attitude, but soon I found myself drawn into the debate. (critical, provoking)
Her mother's captious observations about her appearance caused the girl to become insecure and critical of herself well into adulthood. (faultfinding, critical)
She's always so captious and argumentative, I find it difficult to have a friendly conversation with her. (argumentative, hypercritical)
Discover How You Can Improve Your
Vocabulary 10 to 100 Times Faster with
the Power Vocabulary Builder
Dear Friend,
The definition and lessons for the word captious were made available by the Power Vocabulary Builder.
The Power Vocabulary Builder will help you develop a fuller, richer vocabulary 10 to 100 times faster than any other program available.
Visit the the Power Vocabulary Builder site right now to discover how you can get full access to this breakthrough program today!
astringent - Definition of astringent
turbid - Definition of turbid
asperity - Definition of asperity
duplicity - Definition of duplicity
encumber - Definition of encumber
