captiously
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cap·tious
(kăp′shəs)adj.
1. Marked by a disposition to find and point out trivial faults: a captious scholar.
2. Intended to entrap or confuse, as in an argument: a captious question.
[Middle English capcious, from Old French captieux, from Latin captiōsus, from captiō, seizure, sophism, from captus, past participle of capere, to seize; see kap- in Indo-European roots.]
cap′tious·ly adv.
cap′tious·ness n.
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Adv. | 1. | captiously - in a captious, carping manner; "he was captiously pedantic" |