as in formal
marked by or showing careful attention to set forms and details
old-money aristocrats with a punctilious sense of propriety
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Recent Examples of punctilious
Rudolf, before he is eventually tasked with moving on to another camp, is a punctilious, contented autocrat.
—
Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Dec. 2023
The Pith: Honorable intent and punctilious adherence to proper form and method does not guarantee a set of results which flesh out a genuine phenomenon.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 23 May 2011
His punctilious, every-word-counts lyricism makes your head hurt in a good way, like GZA’s Liquid Swords, Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele, and RZA’s Gravediggaz work all congealed in a thrilling sonic stew.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 24 Aug. 2023
As a protocol officer for Mr. Xi, Mr. Qin was exhaustively punctilious, said Pavel Slunkin, who was a Belarusian diplomat involved in arranging a visit by Mr. Xi to Belarus in 2015.
—David Pierson, New York Times, 26 July 2023
See all Example Sentences for punctilious 
Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Dec. 2023
The Pith: Honorable intent and punctilious adherence to proper form and method does not guarantee a set of results which flesh out a genuine phenomenon.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 23 May 2011
His punctilious, every-word-counts lyricism makes your head hurt in a good way, like GZA’s Liquid Swords, Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele, and RZA’s Gravediggaz work all congealed in a thrilling sonic stew.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 24 Aug. 2023
As a protocol officer for Mr. Xi, Mr. Qin was exhaustively punctilious, said Pavel Slunkin, who was a Belarusian diplomat involved in arranging a visit by Mr. Xi to Belarus in 2015.
—David Pierson, New York Times, 26 July 2023
See all Example Sentences for punctilious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punctilious
Adjective
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With so many celebrities and A-list attendees on the red carpet, the premiere was packed with designer looks and ornate formal attire.—
Julia Teti,
WWD,
11 Feb. 2025
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Thankfully, the museum and interior formal gardens were largely untouched.—
Christopher Knight,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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At home, the atmosphere was decorous, curious, gentle; outside, the culture of the nineteen-fifties was tougher, valorizing war and papering over a darker, more furtive kind of violence.—
Joshua Rothman,
The New Yorker,
25 Jan. 2025
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Aside from a series of gruesome martyr scenes frescoed on the interior wall of the second ring in the late 16th century, the décor reflects late Imperial taste for decorous abstraction and costly materials.—
David Laskin,
New York Times,
24 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The need to capture not only each singer and instrument but all of the crowd noise meant Maitland often had 40 tracks recording at once, all of them using microphones that were period correct to replicate how the performances would have sounded in the early 1960s.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
11 Feb. 2025
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The fact that so many users weren’t even hip to the correct pronunciation of her name says it all.—
Kyle Denis,
Billboard,
11 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The ceremony sets the stage for each day’s contests and activities which include a ceremonious entrance led by a Native American veteran color guard, visiting dignitaries and tribal royalty, followed by dancers of all ages.—
Staff Reports,
Twin Cities,
6 Feb. 2025
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Roberts began the process while Melania was still finalizing her position, which may have disrupted the ceremonious act.—
Lizzie Hyman,
People.com,
20 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Elizabeth had started working and spent some of her wages on nice outfits.—
Mara Bovsun,
New York Daily News,
9 Feb. 2025
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Give your sink a nice bubble bath by stopping the drain and filling the basin along with a tablet.—
Hallie Milstein,
Southern Living,
9 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The show is really aimed at creating foundational skills in reading and arithmetic, along with lessons on proper behaviors that carry forward to the classroom.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
6 Feb. 2025
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Hopefully that means a bigger, more proper announcement than a lotion ad, too.—
Justin Curto,
Vulture,
6 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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And their CEOs announced these promises with solemn rhetoric about their companies' roles in fixing societal problems.—
Maria Aspan,
NPR,
3 Feb. 2025
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The Oscars were not scheduled until the following March, but the ceremony still took on a solemn tone.—
Michael Schulman,
The New Yorker,
22 Jan. 2025
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Thesaurus Entries Near punctilious
Cite this Entry
“Punctilious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punctilious. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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