CAPTIOUS
Cap"tious, a. Etym: [F. captieux, L. captiosus. See Caption.]
1. Art to catch at faults; disposed to find fault or to cavil; eager to object; difficult to please. A captius and suspicious. Stillingfleet. I am sensible I have not disposed my materials to adbide 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.
CAPTIOUSLY
Cap"tious*ly, adv.
Defn: In a captious manner.
CAPTIOUSNESS
Cap"tious*ness, n.
Defn: Captious disposition or manner.
CAPTIVATE
Cap"ti*vate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Captivated; p. pr. & vb. n.
Captivating.] Etym: [L. captivatus, p. p. of captivare to capture,
fr. captivus captive. See Captive.]
1. To take prisoner; to capture; to subdue. [Obs.] Their woes whom fortune captivates. Shak.