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captious
[ kap-shuhs ]
/ ËkĂŠp ÊÉs /
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This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
adjective
apt to notice and make much of trivial faults or defects; faultfinding; difficult to please.
proceeding from a faultfinding or caviling disposition: He could never praise without adding a captious remark.
apt or designed to ensnare or perplex, especially in argument: captious questions.
OTHER WORDS FOR captious
QUIZ
QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!
Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.
Question 1 of 7
âWasâ is used for the indicative past tense of âto be,â and âwereâ is only used for the subjunctive past tense.
Origin of captious
OTHER WORDS FROM captious
Words nearby captious
captain's mast, captains of industry, captan, CAPTCHA, caption, captious, captivate, captivating, captive, captive audience, captive market
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use captious in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for captious
captious
/ (ËkĂŠpÊÉs) /
adjective
apt to make trivial criticisms; fault-finding; carping
Derived forms of captious
captiously, adverbcaptiousness, nounWord Origin for captious
C14 (meaning: catching in error): from Latin captiĆsus, from captiĆ a seizing; see caption
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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