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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Captious \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.
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A captious and suspicious age. --Stillingfleet.
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I am sensible I have not disposed my materials to
abide the test of a captious controversy. --Bwike.
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2. Fitted to harass, perplex, or insnare; insidious;
troublesome.
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Captious restraints on navigation. --Bancroft.

Syn: Caviling, carping, fault-finding; censorious;
hypercritical; peevish, fretful; perverse; troublesome.

Usage: {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.
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Caviling is the carping of argument, carping the
caviling of ill temper. --C. J. Smith.
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