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Captiousness - 3 dictionary results

cap⋅tious

   [kap-shuhs]
–adjective
1. apt to notice and make much of trivial faults or defects; faultfinding; difficult to please.
2. proceeding from a faultfinding or caviling disposition: He could never praise without adding a captious remark.
3. apt or designed to ensnare or perplex, esp. in argument: captious questions.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME capcious < L captiōsus sophistical, equiv. to capti(ō) a taking, hence, sophism (see caption ) + -ōsus -ous
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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cap·tious     (kāp'shəs)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.  
  1. Marked by a disposition to find and point out trivial faults: a captious scholar.
  2. Intended to entrap or confuse, as in an argument: a captious question.

[Middle English capcious, from Old French captieux, from Latin captiōsus, from captiō, seizure, sophism, from captus, past participle of capere, to seize; see kap- in Indo-European roots.]
cap'tious·ly adv., cap'tious·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Captiousness

Cap"tious*ness\, n. Captious disposition or manner.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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