captiously

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.

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[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.]

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cap′tious·ly adv.

cap′tious·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Adv.

1.

captiously - in a captious, carping manner; "he was captiously pedantic"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.