punctilious

adj.

1. Strictly attentive to minute details of form in action or conduct. See synonyms at meticulous.
2. Precise; scrupulous.

punctiliously punc·til'i·ous·ly adv.
punctiliousness punc·til'i·ous·ness n.

(pungk-TIL-ee-uhs)

adjective
Extremely attentive to minute details of action or behavior.

Etymology
From Italian puntiglio, from Spanish puntillo, diminutive of punto (point), from Latin punctum (point)

Usage
"However earnest his aims and punctilious his language, Fowler had not found his genius in schoolteaching, and he did not find it in his essays." — I. Shenker; For the King's English, Fighting the Good Fight; Smithsonian (Washington DC); Nov 1990.

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Well, now we know who he is, but what's he all about? President Bush's choice to replace Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is John G. Roberts,

"an erudite, Harvard-trained, Republican corporate lawyer-turned-judge, with a punctilious, pragmatic view of the law. "

Link: A judge without 'an all-encompassing approach'

Posted July 24, 2005.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

adjective

1. Showing or marked by attentiveness to all aspects or details: careful, fastidious, meticulous, painstaking, scrupulous. See careful/careless.
2. Fond of or given to ceremony: ceremonious, conventional, courtly, formal. See courtesy/discourtesy.

adj

Definition: careful, finicky
Antonyms: careless, easy-going, informal, uncaring

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IN BRIEF: Strictly following every detail of rules or laws.

Some people are difficult to be around because they are too punctilious and they expect others to be as perfect.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - pertentlig

Nederlands (Dutch)
nauwkeurig volgens de regels

Français (French)
adj. - scrupuleux, méticuleux

Deutsch (German)
adj. - peinlich korrekt

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - σχολαστικός, λεπτολόγος

Italiano (Italian)
puntiglioso, minuzioso, pignolo

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - meticuloso, formalista

Русский (Russian)
педантичный, скрупулезный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - puntilloso, meticuloso

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - etikettsbunden, petnoga

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
精密细心的, 拘泥形式的, 一丝苟的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 精密細心的, 拘泥形式的, 一絲苟的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 세심 정밀한, 꼼꼼한

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 堅苦しい, きちょうめんな, 形式ばった

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) مدقق في الرسميات‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מחשיב רשמיות או כללי התנהגות, זהיר, דקדקני‬

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