meticulous
[muh-tik-yuh-luh s]
- 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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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
Synonyms
See more synonyms for meticulous on Thesaurus.com1. exact, strict, scrupulous.
Synonym study
1. See painstaking.
Antonyms
1, 2. careless.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for meticulous
Contemporary Examples
Rick suggests a Woodbury-esque sneak attack on the hospital and lays out a meticulous strategy relying heavily on timing and luck.
The Walking Dead’s ‘Crossed’: The Stage Is Now Set for a Bloody, Deadly Midseason FinaleMelissa Leon
November 24, 2014
In a line of business built on meticulous order, the inner workings of Spinal Solutions were a study in disorder.
Without overshadowing his talented counterparts, Cedar commands the stage with a meticulous mix of stoicism and candor.
It took a special, meticulous kind of person to accomplish the undertaking, someone with brains, patience, and nerves of steel.
He admitted responsibility without hesitation, and in meticulous, grisly detail.
Historical Examples
At least in his early works, he was meticulous in his research.
Quotes and Images From "Celebrated Crimes"Alexander Dumas, Pere
He was a thin and meticulous man, and he operated his ship with mechanical perfection.
Death WishRobert Sheckley
It is impossible to give you an idea of such a meticulous neatness.
FalkJoseph Conrad
Casey nervously undid a shoelace, retieing it with meticulous care.
TerryCharles Goff Thomson
They spare him the trouble of meticulous investigation of unimportant facts.
Days OffHenry Van Dyke
meticulous
- very precise about details, even trivial ones; painstaking
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for 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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper