captious
Use Captious in a sentence
ʃəs 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, especially in argument: captious questions.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English capcious < Latin captiōsus sophistical, equivalent to capti(ō) a taking, hence, sophism (see caption) + -ōsus -ous
1350–1400; Middle English capcious < Latin captiōsus sophistical, equivalent to capti(ō) a taking, hence, sophism (see caption) + -ōsus -ous
Related forms
cap·tious·ly, adverb
cap·tious·ness, noun
non·cap·tious, adjective
non·cap·tious·ly, adverb
non·cap·tious·ness, noun
o·ver·cap·tious, adjective
o·ver·cap·tious·ly, adverb
o·ver·cap·tious·ness, noun
un·cap·tious, adjective
un·cap·tious·ly, adverb
un·cap·tious·ness, noun
Synonyms
1. carping, nitpicking, niggling, picky, testy.
1. carping, nitpicking, niggling, picky, testy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To captious
00:10
Captious
is an SAT word you need to know.
So is portend. Does it mean:
| a poem or prose composition, usually describing pastoral scenes or events or any charmingly simple episode, appealing incident, or the like. |
| to indicate in advance; to foreshadow or presage, as an omen does |
Collins
World English Dictionary
captious (ˈkæpʃəs) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| apt to make trivial criticisms; fault-finding; carping | |
| [C14 (meaning: catching in error): from Latin captiōsus, from captiō a seizing; see | |
| 'captiously | |
| —adv | |
| 'captiousness | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
captious
c.1408, from M.Fr. captieux, from L. captiosus, from captio "a deceiving, fallacious argument," lit. "a taking (in)," from capere "to take, catch" (see capable).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
But even if he succeeds, his credibility as the head of a captious party is likely to crumble.
It seems to meet the approval of the taxpayers as it stands, and may readily be changed to suit the views of the captious ones.
Through his pen, inanity became animate, and the captious craft of caricature was raised to character study.
In trying to be more serious, the play only becomes more captious.
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