The words censorious and critical can be used in similar contexts, but censorious implies a disposition to be severely critical and condemnatory. The synonyms carping and critical are sometimes interchangeable, but carping implies an ill-natured or perverse picking of flaws.Ī carping editorial When could censorious be used to replace critical? While the synonyms captious and critical are close in meaning, captious suggests a readiness to detect trivial faults or raise objections on trivial grounds.Ī captious critic Where would carping be a reasonable alternative to critical? While all these words mean 'inclined to look for and point out faults and defects,' critical may also imply an effort to see a thing clearly and truly in order to judge it fairly.Ī critical essay When might captious be a better fit than critical? Some common synonyms of critical are captious, carping, censorious, faultfinding, and hypercritical. Frequently Asked Questions About critical How does the adjective critical contrast with its synonyms?
