CAPTIOUSLY

captiously

(adverb) in a captious, carping manner; “he was captiously pedantic”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adverb

captiously (comparative more captiously, superlative most captiously)

In a captious manner.

Source: Wiktionary


Cap"tious*ly, adv.

Definition: In a captious manner.

CAPTIOUS

Cap"tious, a. Etym: [F. captieux, L. captiosus. See Caption.]

1. Art to catch at faults; disposed to find fault or to cavil; eager to object; difficult to please. A captius and suspicious. Stillingfleet. I am sensible I have not disposed my materials to adbide 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

21 December 2024

COYOTE

(noun) a forest fire fighter who is sent to battle remote and severe forest fires (often for days at a time)


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

coffee icon