methodical
Americanadjective
-
performed, disposed, or acting in a systematic way; systematic; orderly.
a methodical person.
-
painstaking, especially slow and careful; deliberate.
adjective
Synonym Usage
See orderly.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of methodical
First recorded in 1560–70; methodic, from Latin methodic(us) or directly from Greek methodikós; see method, -ic + -al 1
Explanation
Methodical means following a method. If you follow the same sixteen steps in the same order when you make a fire, you could be said to take a methodical approach to this activity. The idea of moving slowly and orderly through a process can at times be dismissed as bureaucratic or obsessive, but when you use the word methodical to describe it, chances are you think that it's good to follow a method. The only thing missing from a methodical approach is inspiration — dancers shouldn't be too methodical; engineers should.
Vocabulary lists containing methodical
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 3
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Words to Know Before You Defrost the Bird
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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.
While Fraser delivers an external performance as the tough American general, Scott offers a restrained, mostly tamped-down depiction of the repressed and methodical Stagg.
From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026
Knight and Bouchier were predictably more methodical - with strike rates of 81.8 and 65.5 - at the crease when they could have shown some fearless aggression.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
The merits docket – the ordinary process – is methodical.
From Salon • Apr. 25, 2026
The pontiff is more popular than the president—and is a methodical political operator.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
Geyer began the same methodical canvass he had conducted in Cincinnati.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
