Captious

/ˈkæpʃəs/ adjective

Definition

Tending to find fault or make petty criticisms; overly critical in a way that seems unfair or looking for small mistakes to complain about.

Etymology

From Latin captiosus, derived from captio (a taking or seizure, later metaphorically 'a snare' or 'a trick'). The word evolved to mean 'tricky' or 'deceptive,' then shifted to describe someone who 'catches' people in errors or fault-finding.

Kelly Says

Captious comes from the idea of 'catching' people in mistakes—it's like someone constantly laying traps for errors, which is why a captious person feels so exhausting to be around because they're always 'seizing' on small faults.

Translations

AMአማርኛ
አንደኛ
an-den-nya
ARالعربية
معيب
ma-iib
BNবাংলা
অতি-নির্দিষ্ট
a-tee-nir-dish-t
CACatalà
captiós
kap-tee-ohs
CSČeština
povrchní
povrch-nee
DADansk
forfærdelig
for-fair-de-lig
DEDeutsch
tendenziös
ten-den-zee-ohs
ELΕλληνικά
πικρό
pi-kroh
ESEspañol
capcioso
kap-thee-oh-soh
FAفارسی
تکبر
tek-ber
FISuomi
viettelevä
vee-teh-leh-vah
FRFrançais
captieux
kap-tee-oh
GUGU
પેટાળું
pe-ta-loon
HAHA
bāka
bah-kah
HEעברית
משעשע
mi-she-sheh
HIहिन्दी
अति-विनिर्णय
a-tee-vi-ni-r-nay
HUMagyar
csípős
chip-ohs
IDBahasa Indonesia
berlebihan
ber-le-bee-han
IGIG
ọjọ
oh-joh
ITItaliano
accenno
ak-chen-noh
JA日本語
とがった
to-gat-ta
KKKK
ақылды
a-kyll-dee
KMKM
ច្បាស់
ch-ba-s
KO한국어
재치있는
jae-chi-in-neun
MRMR
अतिशय
a-tee-shay
MSBahasa Melayu
berlebihan
ber-le-bee-han
MYမြန်မာ
ကောင်း
ka-ung
NLNederlands
zeurderig
zeur-de-rig
NONorsk
forstyrrende
for-stir-ren-deh
PAPA
ਅਨુમાਣ
anu-maan
PLPolski
kapryśny
kap-rish-nee
PTPortuguês
capcioso
kap-thee-oh-soh
RORomână
capricios
kap-ree-thee-ohs
RUРусский
придирающийся
pri-dee-ra-yuschee-sya-y
SVSvenska
kränkande
krain-kan-deh
SWKiswahili
msikiti
m-si-kee-tee
TAதமிழ்
குறிப்பிட்ட
ku-ri-ppi-tta
TEతెలుగు
పెద్దగా
ped-da-ga
THไทย
ติง
ting
TLTL
maselan
ma-se-lan
TRTürkçe
eleştirel
el-es-tee-rel
UKУкраїнська
прискіпливий
pri-ski-pli-v-iy
URاردو
نقدی
naq-dee
VITiếng Việt
khắt khe
khat-khe
YOYO
ọlọ́
oh-loh
ZH中文
吹毛求疵
chuī máo qiú cī
ZUZU
ukuhle
oo-koo-leh

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.