meticulous
Americanadjective
Related Words
See painstaking.
Other Word Forms
- meticulosity noun
- meticulously adverb
- meticulousness noun
- unmeticulous adjective
- unmeticulousness noun
Etymology
Origin of meticulous
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 )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Yet the definitions that ultimately appeared in print did not always reflect the system Godlove had carefully devised; staff attrition, lost revisions and production pressures disrupted years of meticulous work.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
The less scrupulous voices also invade Beverly’s meticulous household like bulls in a suburban china shop.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026
He was meticulous in ordering well-made clothes, and a “chariot” with some gilding wouldn’t be too excessive, he thought.
From Slate • Feb. 16, 2026
"I am grateful to the European states for the meticulous work they carried out over two years and for uncovering the truth," she added.
From BBC • Feb. 14, 2026
But Kira knew the robe well from watching her mothers meticulous work on it each year.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
