| Captious | a. [ F. captieux, L. captiosus. See Caption. ] 1. Apt to catch at faults; disposed to find fault or to cavil; eager to object; difficult to please. [ 1913 Webster ] A captious and suspicious age. Stillingfleet. [ 1913 Webster ] I am sensible I have not disposed my materials to abide the test of a captious controversy. Bwike. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. Fitted to harass, perplex, or insnare; insidious; troublesome. [ 1913 Webster ] Captious restraints on navigation. Bancroft. Syn. -- Caviling, carping, fault-finding; censorious; hypercritical; peevish, fretful; perverse; troublesome. -- Captious, caviling, Carping. A captious person is one who has a fault-finding habit or manner, or is disposed to catch at faults, errors, etc., with quarrelsome intent; a caviling person is disposed to raise objections on frivolous grounds; carping implies that one is given to ill-natured, persistent, or unreasonable fault-finding, or picking up of the words or actions of others. [ 1913 Webster ] Caviling is the carping of argument, carping the caviling of ill temper. C. J. Smith. [ 1913 Webster ] |
