What does punctilious mean?
Punctilious means Strictly attentive to detail; meticulous or fastidious, particularly to codes or conventions..
Punctilious
/pʌŋkˈtɪli.əs/ · adjective
Meaning
Strictly attentive to detail; meticulous or fastidious, particularly to codes or conventions..
Definitions by Sense
- Strictly attentive to detail; meticulous or fastidious, particularly to codes or conventions.
- Precise or scrupulous; finicky or nitpicky.
Example Sentences
With a punctilious slap of the gloves, the duel was now inevitable.
He was punctilious. According to those who worked with him, even his paperwork was the best they'd seen.
Of course, humans do not treat time in such a punctilious fashion.
Every editor at Merriam-Webster deals with the Black Books at many points during their tenure. The Black Books are the in-house set of rules for writing a dictionary (commonly called a style guide) as conceived and written in punctilious detail by the former editor in chief Philip Babcock Gove, for the creation of Webster’s Third.
Synonyms for punctilious
Antonyms for punctilious
Related Words
Word Forms
- more punctilious
- most punctilious
Usage Notes
Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.
Practice and Learn More
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a synonym for punctilious?
Common synonyms include accurate, careful, comprehensive, solicitous.
What is the opposite of punctilious?
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
How do you use punctilious in a sentence?
With a punctilious slap of the gloves, the duel was now inevitable.
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.