captious
UK: ˈkæpʃəs | US: ˈkæpʃəs
adj. tending to find fault or raise petty objections
adj. intended to entrap or confuse, as in an argument
The word "captious" originates from the Latin captiosus, meaning "deceptive" or "fallacious," derived from capere ("to take"). It evolved in Middle English to describe someone who "seizes" opportunities to criticize or trap others in arguments. The morpheme capt reflects this logic of "taking" flaws or objections, while -ious gives it an adjectival form.
Her captious remarks made the meeting unnecessarily tense.
The lawyer’s captious questioning confused the witness.
Avoid captious debates that focus on trivial details.
His captious nature alienated his colleagues.
The review was overly captious, ignoring the film’s strengths.