as in critical
given to making or expressing unfavorable judgments about things
a captious and cranky eater who's never met a vegetable he didn't hate
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of captious
So much of the new sobriety flex is anathema to the captious alcoholics of 12-step groups.
—
Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 19 Apr. 2022
That a right-wing party traditionally captious about American patriotism did not react heatedly to evidence of Russian interference in US elections is bizarre.
—Darryl Pinckney, The New York Review of Books, 5 Nov. 2020
Berryman was a captious and self-heating complainer, slow to cool.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2020
Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 19 Apr. 2022
That a right-wing party traditionally captious about American patriotism did not react heatedly to evidence of Russian interference in US elections is bizarre.
—Darryl Pinckney, The New York Review of Books, 5 Nov. 2020
Berryman was a captious and self-heating complainer, slow to cool.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for captious
Adjective
-
This figure has already surpassed the 1,274 cases recorded during the peak year of 2019, marking a critical public health milestone reached just halfway through 2025.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 July 2025
-
From there, the first-year MLS club made two critical defensive errors.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 July 2025
Adjective
-
My hypercritical brain took this imperfection and ran with it.—
Jailynn Taylor,
Allure,
26 June 2025
-
This has led to multiple fans getting hypercritical of the iconic wrestler, calling out his age and accusing him of simply being a product of former WCW president Eric Bischoff.—
Jeremy Hanna,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 June 2025
Adjective
-
But what if, despite your best intentions, your communication is coming off as judgmental?—
Melody Wilding,
CNBC,
6 July 2025
-
No one likes an audience member that's judgmental the whole time.—
Meredith Wilshere,
People.com,
28 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Captious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captious. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share