captious

/'kæpʃəs/

Thân thiện

A student listens to a captious tutor correct a minor error.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Tending to find and call attention to faults; overly critical: A person described as captious is habitually inclined to point out minor faults or raise petty objections, often in a manner that is perceived as annoying or unfair.
   • Intended to entrap or confuse, especially in argument: In a more formal or literary sense, captious can describe a comment, question, or argument that is designed to trap someone or is based on a trivial or sophistical objection.

Usage

The word "captious" is formal and often carries a negative connotation. It is used to describe a person's critical nature or the nature of their criticism. It implies that the criticism is not constructive but is instead focused on insignificant details.

Examples

• Describing a person:
  • The captious reviewer found fault with every minor detail of the film, ignoring its overall brilliance.
  • It's difficult to have a productive discussion with him because he is so captious.
• Describing criticism or argument:
  • She dismissed his captious remarks about the report's formatting.
  • The debate was sidetracked by captious quibbles over definitions.

Advanced Usage

• "captiousness" (noun): The quality or state of being captious.
  • His constant captiousness created a tense atmosphere in the office.
• In a legal or philosophical context: A captious argument is one that is misleading or based on a technicality.
  • The lawyer avoided captious interpretations of the contract, focusing instead on its intent.

Variants and Related Words

• Hypercritical (adj): Excessively and unreasonably critical, especially of small faults. (Very close synonym)
• Carping (adj): Constantly complaining or finding fault in a petty way.
• Caviling (adj): Making petty or unnecessary objections.
• Quibbling (adj): Arguing or raising objections about trivial matters.

Synonyms

• Faultfinding
• Nitpicking
• Pedantic (when focused on minor details)
• Censorious

Antonyms

• Uncritical
• Tolerant
• Easygoing
• Approving

Related Phrases/Idioms

• To split hairs: To make overly fine distinctions or argue about trivial details. This captures the spirit of captious behavior.
  • Stop splitting hairs; your captious points are not helping us reach a decision.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. tending to find and call attention to faults
   • a captious pedant
   • an excessively demanding and faultfinding tutor

Từ đồng nghĩa

• faultfinding