Vocabulary Spotlight
Captious
Part of Speech: Adjective
Definition: Inclined to find fault or raise petty objections; critical.
“Her captious comments on minor errors annoyed everyone in the team.”
Pronunciation
[kap-shuhs]
Synonyms, Antonyms & Related Words
Synonyms
Quibbling
Fault-finding
Censorious
Nit-picky
Antonyms
Tolerant
Encouraging
Forgiving
Generous
Related Words
Captiousness (noun)
Word Origin
“Captious” originates from the Latin “captiosus,” meaning “deceitful” or “fallacious.” In English, it evolved to describe a person who is overly critical or inclined to find fault.
Word Family
Adjective: Captious – Inclined to find fault or raise objections.
Adverb: Captiously – In a captious or overly critical manner.
Noun: Captiousness – The quality of being overly critical or fault-finding.
Mnemonics
Think “Cap-tious” as “Cap on issues” – always pointing out issues, often trivial ones.
Industry-specific Usage
Customer Service
In customer service, a captious attitude may alienate customers rather than build rapport.
Education
Teachers with a captious approach may discourage students by focusing on minor mistakes rather than overall progress.
Management
Managers who are captious may find it difficult to build positive morale among employees.
In Context
A captious individual often fixates on small faults, which can create a negative environment in both personal and professional interactions.