Meticulous

Pronunciation

• US IPA: /mɨˈtɪkjɨlɨs/, //mɨˈtɪkjulÉ™s/
• Rhymes: -ɪkjÉ™lÉ™s

Origin

From Latin meticulōsus ("full of fear, timid, fearful, terrible, frightful"), from metus ("fear") and -culōsus, extracted from perīculōsus ("perilous").

Full definition of meticulous

Adjective

1. (archaic) Timid, fearful, overly cautious.
2. Characterized by very precise, conscientious attention to details.
• 1943, w, S: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.

Synonyms

• careful, precise, painstaking, rigorous, scrupulous

Antonyms

• sloppy, careless, slapdash

Derived terms

• meticulosity, meticulousness