Cap"tious (?), a. [F.
captieux, L. captiosus. See Caption.]
1. Apt to catch at faults; disposed to find
fault or to cavil; eager to object; difficult to
please.
A captious and suspicious age.
Stillingfleet.
I am sensible I have not disposed my materials to
abide the test of a captious controversy.
Bwike.
2. Fitted to harass, perplex, or insnare;
insidious; troublesome.
Captious restraints on navigation.
Bancroft.
Syn. -- Caviling, carping, fault-finding; censorious;
hypercritical; peevish, fretful; perverse; troublesome. --
Captious, caviling, Carping. A
captious person is one who has a fault-finding habit or
manner, or is disposed to catch at faults, errors, etc., with
quarrelsome intent; a caviling person is disposed to raise
objections on frivolous grounds; carping implies that one
is given to ill-natured, persistent, or unreasonable fault-
finding, or picking up of the words or actions of others.
Caviling is the carping of argument,
carping the caviling of ill temper.
C. J. Smith.
