Word: meticulous (adjective)

Associations

"Meticulous" means being very careful and paying great attention to small details.

• When you clean your room meticulously, you make sure every corner is spotless.
• A meticulous artist paints with great care, focusing on every small part of the picture.
• A meticulous student checks their homework carefully for mistakes before submitting it.

Synonym: "careful" is similar but less strong. "Meticulous" means more detailed and exact than just "careful." For example, a careful person might avoid big mistakes, but a meticulous person avoids even tiny errors.

Substitution

Other words you can use instead of "meticulous":

• "thorough" (means complete and detailed, but not always about small details)
• "precise" (means exact, often about measurements or facts)
• "detailed" (focuses on many small parts) Using these words changes the meaning slightly. "Meticulous" focuses on careful attention to every small detail.

Deconstruction

The word "meticulous" comes from Latin "meticulosus," meaning "fearful" or "timid," but now it means careful and precise.

• Root: "meticul-" relates to fear or carefulness.
• Suffix: "-ous" means "full of" or "having the quality of." So "meticulous" means full of carefulness or attention.

Inquiry

• Can you think of a time when being meticulous helped you do something better?
• How is being meticulous different from just being careful?
• In what situations is it important to be meticulous? When might it be too much?