meticulous

[muh-tik-yuh-luhs]

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.

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

Related formsme·tic·u·lous·ly, adverbme·tic·u·lous·ness, me·tic·u·los·i·ty

[muh-tik-yuh-los-i-tee] /məˌtɪk yəˈlɒs ɪ ti/, nounun·me·tic·u·lous, adjectiveun·me·tic·u·lous·ly, adverbun·me·tic·u·lous·ness, noun

Synonyms for meticulous

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1. exact, strict, scrupulous.

Synonym study

1. See painstaking.

Antonyms for meticulous

1, 2. careless.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for meticulously

intensely, very, fully, intensively, wholly, completely, carefully, earnestly, highly, extremely, scrupulously, painstakingly, conscientiously, meticulously, comprehensively, assiduously, efficiently, exactly, precisely, warily

Examples from the Web for meticulously

Contemporary Examples of meticulously

She showed me a set of drawers, revealing a meticulously kept filing system of all her jokes.
Joan Rivers: 'Death Is Like Plastic Surgery'
Tim Teeman
September 4, 2014
The hospital turned to Brantly, who is meticulously cautious and profoundly compassionate.
‘He Could Have Brought Ebola Here’: Minnesota Widow on Her Husband
Michael Daly
July 30, 2014
Many of the companies in the top 100 have been investing in and meticulously tending to their brands for decades.
Yes We Can Still Market: Why U.S. Brands Remain World’s Most Valuable
Daniel Gross
June 1, 2014
Scenes of various moments—eating, showering, being interrogated—are meticulously replicated almost in life size.
The Agony and the Ecstasy of Ai Weiwei
Justin Jones
May 15, 2014
She meticulously de-glams, forcing her flowing brown hair into a tight bun.
‘Camp X-Ray,’ A Kristen Stewart-Starring Guantanamo Bay Film, Premieres at Sundance
Marlow Stern
January 18, 2014

Historical Examples of meticulously

Furthermore, her face and body were meticulously symmetrical.
The Perfectionists
Arnold Castle
What little hair he did have left was meticulously shaved off every morning.
Unwise Child
Gordon Randall Garrett
But once he realized that, he meticulously joked about them.
At the Post
Horace Leonard Gold
It may be putting it strong; but it is also meticulously and simply—true.
Through Our Unknown Southwest
Agnes C. Laut
Very often they are of all men the most meticulously mannered.
Preaching and Paganism
Albert Parker Fitch

British Dictionary definitions for meticulously

meticulous

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 meticulously

adv.

1680s, from meticulous + -ly (2).

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.