meticulous

C2 Topic:Describing People

US /mɪˈtɪkjɪlɪs/ See IPA manual

adj Freq #17506

Meanings

1

adj
Giving very careful and precise attention to every detail.

She kept meticulous records of every penny the charity spent.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · giving very careful and... fastidious painstaking punctilious

More accurate careful comprehensive conscientious exhaustive groundlyin-depthintensiveletter-perfectmindful minute

Opposites

automatic careless cursory haphazard perfunctory slapdash slipshod sloppy superficialsurface-levelthoughtless token

Word family

Derived forms meticulositymeticulouslymeticulousnessunmeticulous

Related forms all-embracingall-encompassingall-inclusivebureaucratic cautious industrious

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin meticulōsus (“full of fear, timid, fearful, terrible, frightful”), from metus (“fear”) and -culōsus, extracted from perīculōsus (“perilous”). Sense of “characterized by very precise, conscientious attention to details” is a semantic loan from French méticuleux.

meticulōsus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing People Word Formation & Derivatives

# meticulous

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** mɪˈtɪkjɪlɪs
**Frequency rank:** 17506

## Meanings
1. Giving very careful and precise attention to every detail.

## Examples
- She kept meticulous records of every penny the charity spent.

## Synonyms
- accurate
- careful
- comprehensive
- conscientious
- exhaustive
- fastidious
- groundly
- in-depth
- intensive
- letter-perfect
- mindful
- minute

## Antonyms
- automatic
- careless
- cursory
- haphazard
- perfunctory
- slapdash
- slipshod
- sloppy
- superficial
- surface-level
- thoughtless
- token

## Derived Forms
- meticulosity
- meticulously
- meticulousness
- unmeticulous

## Related Forms
- all-embracing
- all-encompassing
- all-inclusive
- bureaucratic
- cautious
- industrious

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: meticulōsus

## Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin meticulōsus (“full of fear, timid, fearful, terrible, frightful”), from metus (“fear”) and -culōsus, extracted from perīculōsus (“perilous”). Sense of “characterized by very precise, conscientious attention to details” is a semantic loan from French méticuleux.

## AI Etymology
Meticulous is a learned borrowing from Latin meticulōsus (“full of fear, timid, fearful, terrible, frightful”), from metus (“fear”) and -culōsus, extracted from perīculōsus (“perilous”). Sense of “characterized by very precise, conscientious attention to details” is a semantic loan from French méticuleux. Important recorded forms include meticulōsus (Latin). Current senses include giving very careful and precise attention to every detail. The wider family includes derived forms such as meticulosity, meticulously, meticulousness, and unmeticulous and related words such as all-embracing, all-encompassing, all-inclusive, bureaucratic, and cautious.

## Topics
- Describing People
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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meticulous

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