captivateł (kaptivat)

[L. captivatus, made prisoner; fascinated; insnared. What though I be enthrall'd?... Tush! women have been captivate ere now. Shak ., 1 Hen. VI., v. 3. of whim - who has no difficulties but of his own creating is a subject more fit for ridicule than compa ion. Sheridan , The Rivals, iv. 3. 2. Proceeding from a faultfinding or caviling disposition; fitted to hara or perplex; censorious; carping; hence, insidious; crafty: as, a captious question. Locke, Captious or fallacious ways of talking. With these modifications and with all branches of the Government in political harmony, and in the absence of partisan incentive to captious obstruction, the law as it was left by the amendment of 1869 was much le destructive of executive discretion. Applet on's Ann. Сус., 1886, p. 244. 3t. Capable of receiving; capacious. Yet, in this captious and intenible sieve, I still pour in the waters of my love. Shak., All's Well, i. 3. 4. Insnaring; captivating. [Rare and humor ous.] Away with despair, no longer forbear To fly from the captious coquette. Byron, Hours of Idlene . =Syn. 1. Captious, Carping, Caviling, faultfinding, hypercritical, crabbed, testy, pettish, splenetic, all expre unamiable temper and behavior, with wrongheadedne . Captious expre es a disposition to catch at little or inoffensive things, and magnify them into great defects, affronts, etc. Carping is a strong word noting faultfinding that is both unreasonable and unceasing; it applies more to criticism on conduct, while caviling applies to objections to arguments, opinions, and the like: as, it is easier to cavil than to disprove. See petulant. He frequently found fault, was captious , and seemed ready for an outbreaking. Franklin , Autobiog., p. 92.. Avoid the censures of the carping world. Shak., Rich. III., iii. 5. I write not to content each cavilling brain, But eyes of noblest spirits. Ford , Ded. of Honour Triumphant. captiously (kap's hus-li), adv. 1. In a captious, critical, or faultfinding manner. Use your words as captiously as you can, in your arguing on one side, and apply distinctions on the other. Locke. 2. So as to catch or insnare; insnaringly; captivatingly. [Rare.] captiousne (kap's hus-nes), n. The quality of being captious; disposition to find fault; inclination to object; peevishne . Captiousne is another fault opposite to civility. Locke , Education, § 143.