captious

[ kap-shuhs ]

/ ˈkæp ʃəs /

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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.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

captainship, captan, captation, captcha, caption, captious, captiously, captivate, captivating, captive, captive audience

Origin of captious

1350–1400; Middle English capcious < Latin captiōsus sophistical, equivalent to capti(ō) a taking, hence, sophism (see caption) + -ōsus -ous

SYNONYMS FOR captious

1 carping, nitpicking, niggling, picky, testy.

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Related forms

cap·tious·ly, adverbcap·tious·ness, nounnon·cap·tious, adjectivenon·cap·tious·ly, adverb

non·cap·tious·ness, nouno·ver·cap·tious, adjectiveo·ver·cap·tious·ly, adverbo·ver·cap·tious·ness, nounun·cap·tious, adjectiveun·cap·tious·ly, adverbun·cap·tious·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for captious

I believe that slight sufferings make us captious—great ones, humane and benevolent.
The Kentuckian in New-York, Volume I (of 2)|William Alexander Caruthers
He yielded, or seemed to yield, to the hot hastiness of Wilks, and lent himself to the captious waywardness of Dogget.
Their Majesties' Servants (Volume 1 of 3)|John Doran
The second day he became very moody and captious, the third day no one knew what to do with him.
Stories of Authors, British and American|Edwin Watts Chubb
But he was in a captious mood; and he did not wish to oblige her.
Happy Pollyooly|Edgar Jepson

For 'captious' we should certainly read, with Farmer, capacious.
The Shakespeare-Expositor: An Aid to the Perfect Understanding of Shakespeare's Plays|Thomas Keightley

British Dictionary definitions for captious

captious

/ (ˈkæpʃəs) /

adjective

apt to make trivial criticisms; fault-finding; carping

Derived Formscaptiously, adverbcaptiousness, noun

Word Origin for captious

C14 (meaning: catching in error): from Latin captiōsus, from captiō a seizing; see caption

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for captious

captious

adj.

c.1400, capcyus, from Middle French captieux (15c.) or directly from Latin captiosus "fallacious," from captionem (nominative captio) "a deceiving, fallacious argument," literally "a taking (in)," from captus, past participle of capere "to take, catch" (see capable). Related: Captiously; captiousness.