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Meticulous
Showing great attention to detail; extremely careful and precise.
adjective💡
Imagine This
It is ridiculous to keep a garbage can clean and shiny every day.
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Sounds Like
meh-TIK-yoo-luhs
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Looks Like
neat and orderly, resembling careful precision
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Remember This
Meticulous describes a careful, detail-focused approach or person; it is often used positively but can imply fussiness when taken to an extreme.
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Other Forms
meticulouslyadverb
meticulousnessnoun
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Connect With
careful, thorough, exacting, precise, fastidious, scrupulous, diligent
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Note
Use meticulous to describe a person or a process that requires careful attention to detail. For the noun form, use meticulousness; for the adverb, use meticulously.
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Study Deeper
Examples
- The meticulous editor caught every typo before the book went to print.
- Her meticulous notes helped her research project succeed.
Synonyms
carefulthoroughexactingprecisefastidious
Antonyms
carelesssloppynegligentimprecise
Etymology
From Latin meticulosus meaning 'fearful' or 'fearful of making mistakes', from metum 'fear'. The sense evolved to describe someone who is extremely careful about details.
Mnemonic
Make Every Tiny Imperfection Corrected Under Luminous Observation Under Scrutiny.
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Whimsicality
nounThe quality or state of being whimsically playful or fanciful; lighthearted imagination that is unpredictable and charmingly odd.
Inconsequential
adjectiveNot important or significant; having little or no effect on the matter at hand.
Aggregate
adjectiveFormed into a mass or whole; considered as a sum of its parts.
Similar Words
Related words and words with the same part of speech.
Fastidious
adjectiveVery particular about details; meticulous to the point of being hard to please.
Diligent
adjectiveHardworking; showing care, persistence, and attention to detail in one's work.
Abstruse
adjectiveDifficult to understand; obscure or highly complex.
Accidental
adjectiveHappening by chance or without deliberate planning; not intended. In music, it is also a noun for a symbol that temporarily alters a pitch.
Acerbic
adjectiveSharp or biting in tone or taste; caustic or mordant in manner.
Acquiescent
adjectiveReady to agree or approve without protest; compliant.
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