meticulous
English
Etymology
From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] 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 from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] French méticuleux.
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "US" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /mɨˈtɪkjɨlɨs/, /mɨˈtɪkjuləs/
Audio (UK): (file) - Rhymes: -ɪkjələs
Adjective
meticulous (comparative more meticulous, superlative most meticulous)
- Characterized by very precise, conscientious attention to details.
- Synonyms: careful, precise, painstaking, rigorous, scrupulous; see also Thesaurus:meticulous
- Antonyms: sloppy, careless, slapdash
- 1943, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Roosevelt's Fireside Chat, 28 July 1943:
- The meticulous care with which the operation in Sicily was planned has paid dividends. Our casualties in men, in ships and materiel have been low—in fact, far below our estimate.
- (archaic) Timid, fearful, overly cautious.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:cautious
- Antonyms: aggressive, carefree; see also Thesaurus:careless
Derived terms
Translations
characterized by very precise, conscientious attention to details
Further reading
- “meticulous”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “meticulous”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.