punctual
/ˈpʌŋkt͡ʃuəl/adjective
punctual is spelled P-U-N-C-T-U-A-L: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,748th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, punctual means “Of an event, happening at the appointed time” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in punctual?
| Letters | 8: P-U-N-C-T-U-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 35,748th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is punctual?
Punctual appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,748th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce punctual?
- UK /ˈpʌŋktjʊəl/
- UK /ˈpʌŋtjʊəl/
- US /ˈpʌŋkt͡ʃuəl/
Punctual has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-punctual.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of punctual
- more punctual comparative
- most punctual superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does punctual mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of an event, happening at the appointed time.
- 2
Of a person, acting at the appointed time.
Luis is never late; he's the most punctual person I know.
- 3
Existing as a point or series of points.
- 4
Expressing a momentary action that has no duration.
- 5
nonstandardPeriodic; occasional.
The management of the above mentioned feed sectors is subject to close co-operation with the Member States through […] punctual expert groups meetings where appropriate.
- 6
datedObserving trivial points; punctilious.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Punctual in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense prompt:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does punctual come from?
Borrowed from Medieval Latin pūnctuālis (“relating to a point”), from Late Latin pūnctus (“point”) + -ālis (adjective suffix).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).