Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Strictly attentive to minute details of form in action or conduct. synonym: meticulous.
  • adjective Precise; scrupulous.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Attentive to punctilios; very nice or precise in behavior, ceremony, or intercourse; exact (sometimes, to excess) in the observance of rules or forms prescribed by law or custom.
  • Synonyms Particular, precise, scrupulous.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Attentive to punctilio; very nice or exact in the forms of behavior, etiquette, or mutual intercourse; precise; exact in the smallest particulars.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Strictly attentive to detail; meticulous or fastidious, particularly to codes or conventions.
  • adjective Precise or scrupulous; finicky or nitpicky.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective marked by precise accordance with details

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From punctilio +‎ -ous

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word punctilious.

Examples

  • It is no accident that the word "punctilious" ( "attentive to formality or etiquette") comes from the same original root word as punctuation.

    Breakfast in Bed desayunoencama 2004

  • In conduct, this animus expressed itself in a kind of punctilious propriety.

    Robert Browning Herford, C H 1905

  • In conduct, this animus expressed itself in a kind of punctilious propriety.

    Robert Browning 1892

  • He had punctilious but easy manners and a nice dry sense of humor.

    A Covert Affair Jennet Conant 2011

  • Many Wyoming entities and businesses are punctilious about rules.

    Bird Cloud Annie Proulx 2011

  • I made no complaint, but Wolf Larsen demanded the most punctilious sea etiquette in my case, — far more than poor Johansen had ever received; and at the expense of several rows, threats, and much grumbling, he brought the hunters to time.

    Chapter 16 2010

  • He had punctilious but easy manners and a nice dry sense of humor.

    A Covert Affair Jennet Conant 2011

  • Many Wyoming entities and businesses are punctilious about rules.

    Bird Cloud Annie Proulx 2011

  • Many Wyoming entities and businesses are punctilious about rules.

    Bird Cloud Annie Proulx 2011

  • Many Wyoming entities and businesses are punctilious about rules.

    Bird Cloud Annie Proulx 2011

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.