punctilious
/pʌŋkˈtɪli.əs/
"punctilious" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“punctilious” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Strictly attentive to detail; meticulous or fastidious, particularly to codes or conventions.
Corpus desk
Index EN-punctilious · punctilious · English
punctilious · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | punctilious |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /pʌŋkˈtɪli.əs/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “punctilious” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
punctilious is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /pʌŋkˈtɪli.əs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
punctilious has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From punctilio (“fine point in exactness of conduct”) + -ous. The correct English form is punctilious, spelled P-U-N-C-T-I-L-I-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Strictly attentive to detail; meticulous or fastidious, particularly to codes or conventions.
- 2Precise or scrupulous; finicky or nitpicky.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how punctilious appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
With a punctilious slap of the gloves, the duel was now inevitable.
He was punctilious. According to those who worked with him, even his paperwork was the best they'd seen.
Etymology
From punctilio (“fine point in exactness of conduct”) + -ous.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "punctilious"?
What does "punctilious" mean?
How do you pronounce "punctilious"?
What is the origin of the word "punctilious"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
What to do next
You've looked up "punctilious". Here's where to go from here.
- Browse more English words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.