meticulous

In a sentence

• His meticulous notes made the audit almost painless.
• She is meticulous about measuring spice for the same recipe each time.
• The restoration team took a meticulous approach to every cracked tile.

Origin

From Latin meticulosus (fearful), from metus (fear); the sense shifted in French and English toward painstaking care.

History

Early use carried a tone of fearful fussiness. Over time the word shed much of that stigma and came to praise exact work. Editors, craftspeople and scientists claim it as a virtue when errors are costly. The older link to fear still explains why meticulous people double-check what others wave past.

Nearby words

exacting · fastidious · precise