meticulous

[muh-tik-yuh-luhs]

adjective

1. taking or showing extreme care about minute details; precise; thorough.

   a meticulous craftsman;

   meticulous personal appearance.

   Synonyms: scrupulous, strict, exact
   Antonyms: careless

2. finicky; fussy.

   meticulous adherence to technicalities.

   Antonyms: careless

meticulous

/ mɪˈtɪkjʊləs /

adjective

1. very precise about details, even trivial ones; painstaking

Other Word Forms

• meticulously adverb
• meticulosity noun
• meticulousness noun
• unmeticulous adjective
• unmeticulousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of meticulous¹

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” ( perilous )

Word History and Origins

Origin of meticulous¹

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

Synonym Study

See painstaking.

Example Sentences

His account of its creation is meticulous and moving.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

His accounting, once meticulous, became sloppy; he was often not present when it was time to sign checks.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Inside conservators carefully unwrapped artworks from protective packaging, inspecting each piece and taking meticulous records before positioning them on walls and plinths.

Read more on BBC

The movie is also a work of meticulous creative precision top to bottom, starting with director Dan Trachtenberg’s decision to shoot the film in versions featuring the English language and the Comanche language.

Read more on Salon

I kept meticulous records, mostly because I thought my mom would come back around and be mad at me, because I messed up her very precise financial methodology.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• accurate 
• cautious 
• conscientious 
• exact 
• fastidious 
• fussy 
• painstaking 
• precise 
• scrupulous 
• strict 
• thorough