censorious

adjective

cen·​so·​ri·​ous sen-ˈsȯr-ē-əs 

: marked by or given to censure (see censure entry 1 sense 2)

censorious comments

a censorious critic

censoriously adverb

censoriousness noun

Choose the Right Synonym for censorious

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

Examples of censorious in a Sentence

The stunt earned her the scorn of her censorious older sister.

I was surprised by the censorious tone of the book review.

Recent Examples on the Web

Hamas immediately rejected the suggestion, and the global reaction was sharply censorious. —Natasha Frost, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2025

To me, the events surrounding the removal of Mann’s photographs echo those of a censorious past. —Amy Werbel, The Conversation, 24 Jan. 2025

Their efforts also dovetailed with the censorious culture driven by the woke catechism of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) that shut down debate on college campuses, cultural forums, and even journalistic outlets. —Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025

Vance opened a lot of eyes to the reality that there are many Catholics who are less the charitable, loving kind and more the censorious, hating kind. —Peter H. Schwartz, Chicago Tribune, 17 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin cēnsōrius "of a censor, severe," derivative of cēnsor censor entry 1

First Known Use

1536, in the meaning defined above