ˈkapshəs adjective
Etymology: Middle English capcious, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French captieux, from Latin captiosus, from captio act of taking, deception, fallacious argument + -osus -ous
1. : calculated to confuse, entrap, or entangle in argument : likely to perplex or discomfit
a captious question demanding a careful answer
2. : marked by an inclination to stress faults and raise often trivial objections : perversely hard to please especially because overstrict or capricious
it is perhaps captious when one is given so much, to wish for more — Bergen Evans
never willfully unjust, but … too often captious in his justice, fond of legal chicanery — J.R.Green
Synonyms: see critical