punctilious

American  

[puhngk-til-ee-uhs] / pʌŋkˈtɪl i əs /

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

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punctilious British  

/ pʌŋkˈtɪlɪəs /

adjective

1. paying scrupulous attention to correctness in etiquette

2. attentive to detail

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Related Words

See scrupulous.

Other Word Forms

• punctiliously adverb
• punctiliousness noun
• unpunctilious adjective
• unpunctiliously adverb
• unpunctiliousness noun

Etymology

Origin of punctilious

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

Explanation

A punctilious person pays attention to details. Are you always precisely on time? Is your room perfectly neat? Do you never forget a birthday or a library book's due date? Then you are one of the punctilious people. The adjective punctilious, pronounced "punk-TIL-ee-us," is related to the Italian word puntiglio, meaning "fine point." For someone who is punctilious no point is too fine, no detail too small, to be overlooked. The word is often used to describe people, but it can be used more broadly to apply to observations, behavior, or anything else that is characterized by close attention to detail.

Example Sentences

“Yermak was more a sort of instinctual negotiator…Budanov has his instincts, but I think he’s going to be much more punctilious about the preparations.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

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 • Oct. 25, 2024

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 • Sep. 15, 2024

Ali, who recently converted to the Nation of Islam, is punctilious about matters of faith.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 27, 2023

Unfortunately, even the most punctilious punctuation is not informative enough to eliminate all garden paths.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker