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.