Bad-tempered, quarrelsome, or inclined to argue; having a fretful or complaining disposition.
Origin uncertain; possibly from Latin carni- (carnage) combined with a form resembling captious (from Latin captiousus 'prone to finding fault'). Rare variant spelling and etymology.
This is a wonderfully obscure word that seems designed specifically for describing someone being grumpy and argumentative—the kind of rare adjective that makes you sound scholar-like when complaining about someone's mood.
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