meticulous

Language: en

🇺🇸 /məˈtɪkjələs/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    Showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise in one's work or actions.; Excessively careful or precise; overly concerned with minor details (sometimes used with a negative connotation).

🔗 Details

Word forms

Comparative: more meticulous Superlative: most meticulous

Collocations

meticulous attentionmeticulous caremeticulous detailmeticulous planningmeticulous workmeticulous about

Derivatives

meticulouslymeticulousness

Synonyms

thoroughcarefulprecisepainstakingscrupulousfastidious

Antonyms

carelesssloppynegligent

Commonly confused

fastidious
EN: 'Fastidious' implies being hard to please or fussy about standards, while 'meticulous' emphasizes careful attention to detail.
scrupulous
EN: 'Scrupulous' emphasizes moral or ethical carefulness, while 'meticulous' focuses on precision and thoroughness in any domain.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember the 'u' after the 'l': 'meticulous', not 'meticlous'. Also note there is only one 'l'.

💬 Examples

  1. The surgeon was meticulous in her preparation, checking every instrument twice before the operation.

  2. His meticulous insistence on proper formatting delayed the project by several weeks.