captiousness

C3A1P3T1I1O1U1S1N1E1S1S1

noun

The state of being captious.

Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nouncaptiousness (usually uncountable, plural captiousnesses)

plural captiousnesses

  1. uncountableusuallyThe state of being captious.

    "Yes— and I suppose you want to know why," she replied with dry captiousness.

    1867, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, chapter V, in The Gambler, translated by C. J. Hogarth^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Gambler_(1867)/V)
  2. uncountableusuallyCaptious behaviour.

Origin

From captious + -ness.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

captiousness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/captiousness

MLA

“captiousness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/captiousness. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “captiousness,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/captiousness.

Source: captiousness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.