methodical
Americanadjective
-
performed, disposed, or acting in a systematic way; systematic; orderly.
a methodical person.
-
painstaking, especially slow and careful; deliberate.
adjective
Related Words
See orderly.
Other Word Forms
- antimethodic adjective
- antimethodical adjective
- antimethodicalness noun
- methodically adverb
- methodicalness noun
- nonmethodic adjective
- nonmethodical adjective
- nonmethodicalness noun
- premethodical adjective
- quasi-methodical adjective
- unmethodic adjective
- unmethodical adjective
- unmethodicalness noun
Etymology
Origin of methodical
First recorded in 1560–70; methodic, from Latin methodic(us) or directly from Greek methodikós; method, -ic + -al 1
Explanation
Methodical means following a method. If you follow the same sixteen steps in the same order when you make a fire, you could be said to take a methodical approach to this activity. The idea of moving slowly and orderly through a process can at times be dismissed as bureaucratic or obsessive, but when you use the word methodical to describe it, chances are you think that it's good to follow a method. The only thing missing from a methodical approach is inspiration — dancers shouldn't be too methodical; engineers should.
Vocabulary lists containing methodical
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 3
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Words to Know Before You Defrost the Bird
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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.
This requires methodical, thoughtful action on the part of policymakers.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 8, 2026
His evolution from snarling, combustible forward to considered, methodical manager has surprised some people who may not have followed his career as closely once he had retired.
From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026
His approach to his mother’s secret is as methodical as his unraveling of Peggy’s murder.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
“I think I’m confident because there’s no exact science on ramping up early and success, or being methodical and not participating to result in success during the season,” Roberts said.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 21, 2026
There were application forms, twenty pages long, and thick, densely printed admission handbooks from Edinburgh and London whose methodical, exacting prose seemed to be a foretaste of a new kind of academic rigor.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
