punctilious

[ puhngk-til-ee-uhs ]

adjective

1. extremely attentive to punctilios; strict or exact in the observance of the formalities or amenities of conduct or actions.

   Synonyms: conscientious, careful, demanding, precise

   Antonyms: careless

punctilious

/ pʌŋkˈtɪlɪəs /

adjective

1. paying scrupulous attention to correctness in etiquette
2. attentive to detail

Derived Forms

• puncˈtiliousness, noun
• puncˈtiliously, adverb

Other Words From

• punc·tili·ous·ly adverb
• punc·tili·ous·ness noun
• unpunc·tili·ous adjective
• unpunc·tili·ous·ly adverb
• unpunc·tili·ous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of punctilious¹

First recorded in 1625–35; punctili(o) + -ous

Synonym Study

See scrupulous.

Example Sentences

By its very nature the justice system is glacial, methodical, punctilious, and backward-looking in ways that make keeping up with the well-resourced, wealthy career criminal supremely challenging.

From Slate

And that doesn’t even include the host of honest mistakes that can and do occur filling out the mountains of punctilious paperwork after a 16-hour day.

From Salon

The Journal reports that Biden aides “see Garland’s handling of the inquiries into the Biden family as driven … by a punctilious desire to give the appearance that sensitive investigations are walled off from political pressure.”

From Slate

A punctilious former ballet student of Jewish descent whose student activism evolved into a distinguished career as a physicist and environmentalist, Sheinbaum is said by aides to be as analytical as the 69-year-old Lopez Obrador is political.

From Reuters

But if you’re a pizza cognoscente, or even a bread baker, you’ll recognize that this tomato pie is the work of cooks who are punctilious about their dough.

From Seattle Times