punctilious
Americanadjective
adjective
-
paying scrupulous attention to correctness in etiquette
-
attentive to detail
Related Words
See scrupulous.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of punctilious
First recorded in 1625–35; punctili(o) + -ous
Explanation
A punctilious person pays attention to details. Are you always precisely on time? Is your room perfectly neat? Do you never forget a birthday or a library book's due date? Then you are one of the punctilious people. The adjective punctilious, pronounced "punk-TIL-ee-us," is related to the Italian word puntiglio, meaning "fine point." For someone who is punctilious no point is too fine, no detail too small, to be overlooked. The word is often used to describe people, but it can be used more broadly to apply to observations, behavior, or anything else that is characterized by close attention to detail.
Vocabulary lists containing punctilious
The Great Gatsby
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Grade 10, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Punctilious as Mr. Richards may have been, he told the New York Times that there were many grammarians more “militant” than he.
From Washington Post • Apr. 25, 2021
So the couple, who both come from the fashion world and live in New York’s Hudson Valley, launched Punctilious Mr. P’s Place Card Co.
From Washington Post • Nov. 12, 2019
Punctilious readers may have noticed that the Spin is running later even than the white rabbit this week.
From The Guardian • Apr. 14, 2010
Punctilious, prompt and useless was De Nicola's reply.
From Time Magazine Archive
Would Engel be happier as a spy, glamorous and deadly: I just can’t imagine her in any role other than Beastly Punctilious Official.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
