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punctual

[puhngk-choo-uh l]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR punctual ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

strictly observant of an appointed or regular time; not late; prompt.

made, occurring, etc., at the scheduled or proper time: punctual payment.

pertaining to or of the nature of a point.

Origin of punctual

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin pūnctuālis of a point, equivalent to Latin pūnctu(s) a point, a pricking (pung(ere) to prick + -tus suffix of v. action) + -ālis -al¹; see pungent

Related formspunc·tu·al·ly, adverbpunc·tu·al·ness, nounnon·punc·tu·al, adjectivenon·punc·tu·al·ly, adverbnon·punc·tu·al·ness, nounun·punc·tu·al, adjectiveun·punc·tu·al·ly, adverbun·punc·tu·al·ness, noun

Can be confusedpunctilious punctual

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

Related Words for unpunctual

uneven, intermittent, capricious, unreliable, sporadic, jerky, erratic, slow, last-minute, unpaid, tardy, delinquent, belated, outstanding, tedious, stiff, gradual, tame, stagnant, low

Examples from the Web for unpunctual

Historical Examples of unpunctual

What a disgraceful thing it was for the Lilac to be so unpunctual.
Seven Little People and their Friends
Horace Elisha Scudder
But Lucy at last was unpunctual in her visits to the Wilderness.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 55, No. 343, May 1844
Various
It's odd that even at your father's funeral you should be so unpunctual.
Crime and Punishment
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Poets are dreamy and unpractical and unpunctual—it's their nature.
Punch, Or the London Charivari Volume 107, November 17, 1894
Various
But of all men alive Dolly Longstaff was the most unpunctual.
The Duke's Children
Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for unpunctual

punctual

adjective

arriving or taking place at an arranged time; prompt

(of a person) having the characteristic of always keeping to arranged times, as for appointments, meetings, etc

obsolete precise; exact; apposite

maths consisting of or confined to a point in space

Derived Formspunctuality, nounpunctually, adverb

Word Origin for punctual

C14: from Medieval Latin punctuālis concerning detail, from Latin punctum point

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 unpunctual

adj.

1740, from un- (1) "not" + punctual.

punctual

adj.

c.1400, from Medieval Latin punctualis, from Latin punctus "a pricking" (see point (n.)). Originally "having a sharp point; of the nature of a point;" meaning "prompt" first recorded 1670s, from notion of "insisting on fine points." Related: Punctually.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper