punctilious

Advancedzipf 1.76

Pronunciation

/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. 1.The punctilious accountant checked every figure three times before submitting the report. (extremely careful)
  2. 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