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definitions

meticulous

[ muh-tik-yuh-luhs ]
/ məˈtɪk yə ləs /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR meticulous 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.

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RELATED WORDS

precise, cautious, scrupulous, accurate, fastidious, thorough, strict, painstaking, conscientious, exact, fussy, heedful, microscopic, nitpicking, particular, persnickety, picky, punctilious, punctual, conscionable

Nearby words

  1. methyltransferase,
  2. methyltrinitrobenzene,
  3. methysergide,
  4. metic,
  5. metical,
  6. meticulously,
  7. meticulousness,
  8. metier,
  9. metis,
  10. metmb

Origin of meticulous

1525–35; < Latin metīculōsus full of fear, fearful, equivalent to metī- for metū- (stem of metus fear) + -culōsus, extracted from perīculōsus perilous
ANTONYMS FOR meticulous
1, 2. careless.
SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR meticulous ON THESAURUS.COM
Related forms

Synonym study

1. See painstaking.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for meticulous

British Dictionary definitions for meticulous

meticulous

/ (mɪˈtɪkjʊləs) /

adjective

very precise about details, even trivial ones; painstaking
Derived Formsmeticulously, adverbmeticulousness, noun

Word Origin for meticulous

C16 (meaning: timid): from Latin meticulōsus fearful, from metus fear
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
Word Origin and History for meticulous

meticulous

adj.

1530s, "fearful, timid," from Latin meticulosus "fearful, timid," literally "full of fear," from metus "fear, dread, apprehension, anxiety," of unknown origin. Sense of "fussy about details" is first recorded in English 1827, from French méticuleux "timorously fussy." Related: Meticulosity.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper