Censorious: meaning, definitions and examples

Used when someone is being excessively critical, especially in a moralistic way.

• The censorious comments of the judge made the contestant feel demoralized.
• Her censorious attitude towards the neighbors' choices was not appreciated.

General term for someone evaluating or judging something, not necessarily in a negative way.

• The teacher was critical of the student's essay but provided constructive feedback.
• It's important to be critical of the sources of information you come across.

Refers to the ongoing practice of detecting and pointing out faults, often perceived negatively.

• Her faultfinding nature made it difficult to work with her in a team.
• The manager's faultfinding approach demotivated the staff.

Applied in situations where someone is inclined to find trivial faults or raise petty objections.

• The captious critic focused on minor details rather than the overall quality of the artwork.
• Despite the positive feedback, there were captious comments about the event's organization.

Used when someone is excessively and unreasonably critical, often negative in connotation.

• His hypercritical remarks about the movie ruined the evening for everyone.
• The judge's hypercritical attitude made the competition more stressful for the participants.