Make Your Point > Archived Issues > METICULOUS

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connect today's word to others: Our word meticulous means "attentive to all the little details," but a long time ago it meant "fearful;" it's based on a Latin word for "fear." So how did we make that weird logical leap from "fearful" to "detail-obsessed"? Well, there's a French word, méticuleux, that means "t_m_____ly fussy," that is, fussy in a meek, timid, fearful way, and apparently we English-speakers liked it so much that since 1827 we've used the English word meticulous to mean "fussy about details." (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "METICULOUS" Someone or something meticulous is very careful about all the details. Pronunciation: muh TICK yuh luss Part of speech: Adjective. (Adjectives are describing words, like "large" or "late." They can be used in two ways: 1. Right before a noun, as in "a meticulous thing" or "a meticulous person." 2. After a linking verb, as in "It was meticulous" or "He was meticulous.") Other forms: meticulously, meticulosity/meticulousness How to use it: "Meticulous" usually has a positive tone: in most situations, we appreciate meticulousness. But sometimes it can be slightly negative: a meticulous person might be overly fussy about details that don't matter (or niggling). Talk about meticulous people and their meticulous personalities, habits, and manners. Objects can be called meticulous if they were created with meticulous care, such as meticulous notes and records, or meticulous copies and replicas. To get more abstract, we can talk about meticulous plans and approaches, meticulous care and discipline, a meticulous attention to detail, meticulous research and studying, meticulous accents and impersonations, etc. examples: Classroom teachers often find it inconvenient to take days off, since it's hard to put together a lesson plan meticulous enough for a substitute to follow. To learn a makeup technique, I follow the YouTube tutorials meticulously, then practice until I get it right. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "meticulous" means when you can explain it without saying "painstaking" or "conscientious." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) kept meticulous records of _____, right down to the_____." Example: "The previous homeowner kept meticulous records of repairs and upgrades, right down to the name and number of the shade for the grout." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Subject Line Redux! You know how I fill the subject line of each Make Your Point email with a little comment about the word? Let's revisit some of those subject lines; they make a good study tool. That is, you'll improve your chances of recalling our words when you need them later if you do this now: look at the little comment from the subject line and use that to recall the word, its meaning, and how it connects to the little comment. (For more on active recall and how you can employ it to strengthen your vocabulary, please go here.) In each issue this month, I'll share a puzzle or other activity that prompts you to recall 5 previous words based on their subject lines. (To make your own activities like these, check out the fun and useful Vocabulary Worksheet Factory.) And I'll share the answers in the following issue. From our previous issue:  Answers: Try this today: review today's word: 1. The opposite of METICULOUS is A. SLAPDASH. B. HILARIOUS. C. ROUNDED. 2. He _____ with the meticulousness of a _____. A. crafted even his personal emails .. novelist B. kept his papers loose in one briefcase .. lawyer C. suddenly asked that burning question .. man who has nothing to lose Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. A 2. A