carper
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈkɑːrpər/
- Offensive
:
criticón
- Peace studies teachers had to defend themselves against administrative carpers who dismissed their programs as intellectually soft, ideology-driven, and a ruse for reliving the heady 1960s.
Examples
-
Nor can we move anyone if we only complain of what is wrong and are perceived as mere carpers and cavillers.
Academic text (1991) -
Carper (D-DE)
Blog text (31) -
Governor Tom Carper recently established a committee to study the possibility of implementing a curbside recycling system in the state.
Academic text (2000) -
Among them were Gov. Jack Markell, U.S. Sen. Thomas Carper, U.S. Rep. John Carney, and state Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, whose district includes Rehoboth Beach.
Blog text (17) -
What these carpers seemed unable to acknowledge was that while all the above was true, Lucille Poole, that black crow, stood before the bench with the fire of legal brilliance burning within her.
Fiction book (1996) -
The manager was frustrated with the constant complaints from a few carpers on the team.
-
Despite the project's success, a carper in the group pointed out every small mistake.
-
Rather than helping, he became a carper, nitpicking the details instead of finding solutions.
Synonyms
563
3.0
A person who often finds fault and speaks harshly about others
11
2.8
A person who often says they are unhappy about things
10
6.7
A person who complains often in an annoying way
3
8.1
A person who argues loudly about small unimportant things
1
6.9
A person who often points out very small mistakes and complains about them
1
5.3
A person who often complains about small things
1
8.4
A person who often complains about many things
1
9.9
A person who complains a lot about small details
1
3.4
A person who says that people or things are bad
1
6.5
A person who often complains about small, unimportant things
1
8.4
A person who complains a lot about small things
A person who complains about small, unimportant faults in what others say
A person who often criticizes or complains about other people
A person who often tells others they are wrong in an annoying way
Antonyms
How Critical
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Carper comes from the old Latin verb carpere, which means 'to pick' or 'to pluck'. Think of the English verb carp: a carper 'picks' at small faults or complains about little things, which is why it means a person who criticizes in a petty way.