Dictionary
hypercritical
adjective hy·per·crit·i·cal \-ˈkri-ti-kəl\
: criticizing other people or things too strongly or too often
Full Definition of HYPERCRITICAL
: meticulously or excessively critical
— hy·per·crit·i·cal·ly \-k(ə-)lē\ adverb
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First Known Use of HYPERCRITICAL
1605
Related to HYPERCRITICAL
- Synonyms
- captious, carping, caviling (or cavilling), faultfinding, critical, judgmental, overcritical, rejective
- Antonyms
- uncritical
Synonym Discussion of HYPERCRITICAL
critical, hypercritical, faultfinding, captious, carping, censorious 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 <a critical essay>. hypercritical suggests a tendency to judge by unreasonably strict standards <hypercritical disparagement of other people's work>. faultfinding implies a querulous or exacting temperament <a faultfinding reviewer>. captious suggests a readiness to detect trivial faults or raise objections on trivial grounds <a captious critic>. carping implies an ill-natured or perverse picking of flaws <a carping editorial>. censorious implies a disposition to be severely critical and condemnatory <the censorious tone of the review>.
Rhymes with HYPERCRITICAL
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