punctilious
Advancedzipf 1.76Pronunciation
/pʌŋkˈtɪliəs/(pungk-TIL-ee-us)
Part of speech
adjectiveformal
Chinese
一丝不苟的;拘泥于细节的
Definition
Showing great attention to detail or correct behavior; very precise.
Word family
- punctiliously/pʌŋkˈtɪliəsli/(adv)一丝不苟地
- punctiliousness/pʌŋkˈtɪliəsnəs/(n)拘泥
Collocations
- punctilious attention
- punctilious about details
- punctilious in manner
- punctilious observance
Examples
- 1.The punctilious accountant checked every figure three times before submitting the report. (extremely careful)
- 2.She was punctilious about etiquette, always knowing the correct form of address. (precise about propriety)
Synonyms
- meticulous/mɪˈtɪkjʊləs/— very careful about details
- scrupulous/ˈskruːpjʊləs/— thorough and careful
- fastidious/fæˈstɪdiəs/— very fussy about details
Etymology
from Italian "puntiglio" = fine point — from Latin "punctum" = point — attending to every fine point