hypercritical

[ hahy-per-krit-i-kuhl ]

adjective

1. excessively or meticulously critical; overcritical.

hypercritical

/ ˌhaɪpəˈkrɪtɪkəl /

adjective

1. excessively or severely critical; carping; captious

Derived Forms

• ˌhyperˈcritiˌcism, noun
• ˌhyperˈcritic, noun
• ˌhyperˈcritically, adverb

Other Words From

• hyper·criti·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of hypercritical¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; hyper- + critical

Example Sentences

“Being a current player you can’t really be too hypercritical or too nitpicky about either team because these are my teammates and these are also people I gotta see on the court still,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

An integrity sleuth who goes by the pseudonym Smut Clyde and has not been involved in this case says many of the posts seem hypercritical, even if some raised serious issues that warrant corrections and a retraction.

From Science Magazine

“There were some really odd things, but I just thought maybe I was being hypercritical,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

Clarke Schmidt said it was probably one of the team’s better flights as far as turbulence goes, but that his teammates were hypercritical on the landing a little bit.

From Seattle Times

“Kind of by default, he is a hypercritical person of art or media. He’s a very natural like writer because he’s a real student of film and television.”

From Los Angeles Times