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 todetail ;meticulous orfastidious , particularly tocodes orconventions . - adjective
Precise orscrupulous ;finicky ornitpicky .
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
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Examples
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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
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In conduct, this animus expressed itself in a kind of punctilious propriety.
Robert Browning Herford, C H 1905
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In conduct, this animus expressed itself in a kind of punctilious propriety.
Robert Browning 1892
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He had punctilious but easy manners and a nice dry sense of humor.
A Covert Affair Jennet Conant 2011
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Many Wyoming entities and businesses are punctilious about rules.
Bird Cloud Annie Proulx 2011
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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
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He had punctilious but easy manners and a nice dry sense of humor.
A Covert Affair Jennet Conant 2011
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Many Wyoming entities and businesses are punctilious about rules.
Bird Cloud Annie Proulx 2011
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Many Wyoming entities and businesses are punctilious about rules.
Bird Cloud Annie Proulx 2011
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Many Wyoming entities and businesses are punctilious about rules.
Bird Cloud Annie Proulx 2011
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