meticulous

[ muh-tik-yuh-luhs ]

See synonyms for: meticulous meticulously meticulousness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

taking or showing extreme care about minute details; precise; thorough: a meticulous craftsman;meticulous personal appearance.
finicky; fussy: meticulous adherence to technicalities.

Origin of meticulous

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin metīculōsus “full of fear, fearful,” equivalent to metī- for metū- (stem of metus “fear”) + -culōsus, extracted from perīculōsus “dangerous” (see perilous)

synonym study For meticulous

1. See painstaking.

Other words for meticulous

1	exact, strict, scrupulous

See synonyms for meticulous on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for meticulous

1, 2

careless

See antonyms for meticulous on Thesaurus.com

Other words from meticulous

me·tic·u·lous·ly, adverb
me·tic·u·los·i·ty [muh-tik-yuh-los-i-tee], /məˌtɪk yəˈlɒs ɪ ti/, me·tic·u·lous·ness, noun
un·me·tic·u·lous, adjective
un·me·tic·u·lous·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

British Dictionary definitions for meticulous

meticulous

/ (mɪˈtɪkjʊləs) /

adjective

very precise about details, even trivial ones; painstaking

Origin of meticulous

C16 (meaning: timid): from Latin meticulōsus fearful, from metus fear

Derived forms of meticulous

meticulously, adverb
meticulousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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