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

There is a possible downside to your girlfriend’s regular and meticulous credit-card payments: By paying off her balance every day, she is reducing her credit-utilization ratio to virtually zero.

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Their meticulous planning includes a spreadsheet of every meal and how much it weighs.

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Detecting these fleeting pairs among countless other particles required extremely sensitive equipment and meticulous calibration.

Read more on Science Daily

On Tuesday, the right-hander appeared to be more meticulous with his overwhelming arsenal.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He's measured and meticulous and mightily impressive right now.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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