captious

This term describes a specific type of negativity characterized by a predatory search for flaws. It suggests a person who is not merely critical for the sake of improvement, but who actively hunts for minor errors to undermine someone or to appear intellectually superior. The tone is overwhelmingly pejorative, implying a lack of generosity and a fixation on the insignificant.

In professional or academic settings, it distinguishes a pedantic or malicious critic from a constructive one. While a constructive critic focuses on the core substance, a captious individual ignores the forest to obsess over a single crooked leaf, often using trivialities as a weapon in an argument.